West Ham United fan Billy Horschel is in contention to win a first major golf title heading into the weekend at The Open Championship in Scotland.
The American shot an impressive three-under-par round of 68 in Friday’s second round to move into the top five on the leaderboard at Royal Troon, where the winner will be presented with the... Claret Jug!
Teeing off at 7.41am and carrying his clubs in his Claret and Blue West Ham-branded golf bag, Horschel birdied his first two holes to move under par following his opening round of 72, before a bogey at the third saw him slip back to level.
Undeterred, the Floridian parred the next four holes before a superb tee shot to within six feet saw him birdie the par three eighth.
A steady back nine was highlighted by another birdie, this time at the par five 16th hole, which helped Horschel go round in 68 and climb to joint-fourth on two under par, alongside fellow countryman and The Masters champion Scottie Scheffler.
At time of writing, Irishman Shane Lowry was leading the way on seven under par but, with links golf on the west coast of Scotland prone to unpredictable weather and playing conditions, Horschel is undoubtedly in with a chance of winning, if not beating his previous Open Championship best of tied-21st place achieved at St Andrews in 2022.
The 37-year-old spoke to the media following Friday’s round and paid tribute to the West Ham supporters who cheered him around the 18 holes at Troon.
“Listen, whenever I try to come over here I try to get the West Ham bag out and here ‘Up the Hammers’ and ‘Come on you Irons’," Horschel told media.
“I’ve been very fortunate that other supporters of other clubs have been gracious enough to be nice to me compared to maybe how they may be to a fellow English person supporting a West Ham fan!”
Horschel will see his Hammers visit his home state of Florida next week, when new Head Coach Julen Lopetegui takes his squad across the Atlantic Ocean for a two-match Sunshine State Tour, which will include visits to Jacksonville and Tampa and Stateside Cup ties with Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace.
COME ON YOU IRONS! ⚒️@BillyHo_Golf has enjoyed repping @WestHam this week @TheOpen. pic.twitter.com/Dq11NQSDnD
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 19, 2024
While he may not be able to be there in person due to his golfing commitments, the former University of Florida student-athlete is excited to see what Lopetegui can do.
“I think Julen is going to do a good job,” he said. “I'm excited listening. David Moyes was awesome. He took the club from one spot to another and I think it was time to pass the torch and I think Julen will do a good job.”
Horschel will likely be among the final groups to start their third round at Troon on Saturday, so keep an eye on theopen.com for his tee time!
