Longshot Billy Horschel Leads British Open After Three Rounds

Billy Horschel took the lead Saturday during a rainy third round of the British Open with a 2-under par round of 69 at Royal Troon Golf Course in Scotland. He’s one stroke ahead of six golfers. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler sits two shots back.

Horschel turned pro in 2009 and joined the Tour full-time in 2011. The 37-year-old American has had a solid career with eight PGA Tour wins and a career-high ranking of 11th in 2022.  A 15-year run on the PGA Tour is lucrative if you can sprinkle in a few wins, particularly an improbable 2014 FedEx Cup title that carried a $10 million bonus. Horschel has earned $51.6 million in PGA prize money and FedEx bonuses during his career.

Yet, Horschel was not on anyone’s radar entering the British Open, officially the Open Championship. His Official World Golf Ranking is 62, and he has four top 10 finishes this year in 18 events. His best career showing in a major was in his first as a pro when he finished fourth at the 2013 U.S. Open. He did not finish in the top 15 again in a major over the next 10 years. He broke that streak when he finished eighth at the 2024 PGA Championship.

BetMGM had Horschel’s odds at +17500 to win the British Open, same as Christiaan Bezuidenhout and just behind Tiger Woods at +15000. Scheffler was the favorite at +500.

“Something I’ve done this year, and I’ve done a better job this week of it, or tried to do a better job, is sort of manifest seeing myself holding the trophy before I go to sleep every night, envisioning myself holding that trophy on 18, walking out to the crowd and being congratulated as Open champion,” Horschel said after his round Saturday.

Horschel would be far from the most unlikely major winner. Shawn Micheel likely has that title secure in the modern era. He won the 2003 PGA Championship, and it was the only PGA Tour victory of his career. Micheel finished second in the 2006 PGA Championship, but it was the only other time he ever cracked the top 20 in a major. Todd Hamilton didn’t get his PGA Tour card until he was 38 and won only two Tour events, but one of them was the 2004 British Open. He never finished in the top 20 before or after that in a major.

The total purse for the British Open is the smallest of the majors at $17 million, up 3% over last year. The winner will earn $3.1 million, a $100,000 increase over 2023 when American Brian Harmon won the Claret Jug.