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Billy Horschel with his short sleeves in the chill and his brilliant short game at Royal Troon somehow held on for a 2-under 69 and a one-shot lead in a British Open that got turned upside down and every other possible way Saturday.
The rain started before the leading players teed off and only got stronger. The wind was relentless and into the players' faces on the brute of a back nine, leaving the world's best to hit fairway metals into par 4s — and they still couldn't reach the green.
“That's the hardest nine holes I think you could ever play in golf right now,” said Dustin Johnson, a former world No. 1 with two majors. He shot 72 and was five behind.
It was as tough as it gets and Horschel was up to the task with a series of marvellous par saves down the stretch from the rough and from pot bunkers.
Shane Lowry couldn't say the same, and the frustration was evident.
Lowry, who showed his game is built for links golf when he won at Royal Portrush five years ago, had a three-shot lead early and then fell apart. He played the final 11 holes in 7 over, starting with a double bogey from the Coffin bunker on the 123-yard “Postage Stamp” eighth hole. One last bogey gave him a 77 and left him three behind.
“There's no doubt I'm going to go out there tomorrow thinking I can win the tournament,” Lowry said. “But it's just hard right now. Ten minutes ago I had to putt for par on the 18th green, and I’m here talking to you guys now trying to figure out how I shot 77 in my own head.”
It was like that for everyone, at least those who faced four-plus hours in the worst of it.
Thriston Lawrence of South Africa teed off more than three hours before the final group, had six birdies in eight holes and posted a 65. He went from 10 shots behind to playing in the final group Sunday with Horschel, one shot behind.
Sam Burns wasn't too far behind Lawrence. He made eight birdies in his round of 65 and was in the group one shot back that included Russell Henley, who also avoided most of the worst weather and shot 66.
Horschel was at 4-under 209, his first time with a 54-hole lead in a major. Only once before has he even dealt with the Sunday pressure of a major, in the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion where he started two shots behind and tied for fourth.
Now he gets 18 holes against Royal Troon and a cast of survivors.
PGA champion Xander Schauffele faced the brunt of the weather and shot 69, leaving him in the group one shot behind along with Justin Rose (73) and Daniel Brown, the Englishman making his major debut and playing as if he were far more experienced.
Brown had the lead after a birdie on the par-5 16th, only to finish bogey-double bogey. His tee shot on the 18th came to rest on the edge of a deep pot bunker, leaving him no place to stand but some 4 feet down in the stand. He hit into another bunker with his third shot and made 6.
Also still very much alive was golf's best player, Scottie Scheffler, who had a 71 and was only two shots behind. He missed his share of short putts but delivered a 3-wood into the 238-yard 17th hole to 2 feet.
The par 3 played so long that some players late in the day were hitting driver.
“I probably don't hit a 3-wood on a par 3 very often,” Scheffler said. “I probably don't hit driver and a 3-wood really solid on a par 4 and don't get there in two, either.”
He also called it “the hardest nine holes that I'll ever play.”
Lowry shot 40 on the back nine and was at 1-under 212. It felt like an awful day, but he still was only three shots behind. His final hole summed up the day — a drive so far right it was behind the 17th green, and an approach into the grandstands that dropped onto the platform and rolled along to the very edge of the structure.
There were so many other images like that.
Brown hit his tee shot on No 7 so far right that it went onto the eighth green. He played his next shot from in front of the Postage Stamp to 2 feet for birdie that gave him the lead.
Joaquin Niemann survived making an 8 on the par-3 eighth hole Friday to get back in the game. And then he was out of it with another quintuple bogey, this one a 9 on the par-4 11th hole. He drove into a gorse bush for a lost ball. After his third shot off the tee, he hit it out-of-bounds toward the railroad tracks. He went into a pot bunker.
The sole objective for Schauffele was to be there at the end.
“If you can get yourself in a position with a few holes to play, I think you've really done your job for the week. But this was a good start to that,” Schauffele said. “It's a packed leaderboard, and it’s going to be one of those where you just really have to keep your head down and try to worry about yourself.”
There were a few highlights. Earlier in the round before it got nasty, Si Woo Kim became the first player to make a hole-in-one on the 17th hole in the 10 British Opens held at Royal Troon.
And the 65s by Burns and Lawrence were not only special, they now have a chance to win. They were in the best place to make a move — in the clubhouse, nice and dry, watching everyone else simply try to survive.
“Obviously I'm making a lot of birdies in the clubhouse standing right here,” Lawrence said.
They all head out Sunday in what could be a wide-open race. Two dozen players were separated by six shots.
