Billy Horschel just came through number 13 without sliding down a slope.
It counts as something of an achievement – even if he had to remove his socks and shoes for the second day in a row to make it through the hole.
Let’s back us up. Horschel’s second shot on Saturday landed in Rae’s Creek, one of the dangers of the par-5 hole. So Horschel’s socks and shoes pulled out as he prepared to try a shot out of the water. But after noticing the green before his attempt, he loses his footing and slides down the hill, leading to a consultation with Phil Mickelson, the three-time Masters winner who was his day partner, and later blaming the steepness of the bank and the wetness of the rye.
“I said, ‘How bad will the grass stain be?’ ‘Tell Horschel, who was wearing white pants, after the round. “And he said, ‘There can not be one,’ and he looked and said, ‘Yes, there is one there.’ Sorry, buddy. ” (Asked if he had a more difficult moment, he replies: ‘I tore my pants a few times already – and early in the round.’)
The shot went much better.
“It was probably a few inches underwater,” Horschel said, adding, “I knew there was a whole bunch of green behind me, so as long as I hit it hard enough, it’s going to come out.”
It did, lifting to the green and past the pin to set up a two-putt, and Horschel finally par.
“It was an incredible golf shot,” Mickelson later said. ‘It is not easy. Sometimes that thing comes out of kind of blah. I’m curious how he hit it. ”
Then came Sunday, when Horschel’s shot landed in the water.
Just as Horschel fans can hope, we are not making it up.
The shoes came off.
His recovery shot managed to leave the water, but is straight into a rocky slope. His third shot is a few inches. Eventually he reduced his losses, but only to see what technically his fifth shot was in the gallery. Horschel’s sixth puts him on the green, where he sits well.
But it was a dismal performance on the hole: eight strokes – good for a triple bow that moved him to six above par for the tournament. At least he didn’t go down without explaining himself first.