That gave him a one shot lead over the rest of the field after Daniel Brown stumbled at the 18th and carded a double bogey to drop back in the final group. Brown is one of six golfers tied in second at 3-under, so the Claret Jug is really anybody’s to grab on Sunday. Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler is at 2-under, too, so he’s absolutely in the mix too, as is Shane Lowry — who briefly held a three-shot lead at one point on Sunday before stumbling down.
Horschel will go off in the final group on Sunday with Thriston Lawrence, who went 6-under earlier on Saturday to match the low round of the day.
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Leaderboard
With 18 holes to go, here’s how the leaderboard looks at Royal Troon. The Claret Jug is still anybody’s to grab.
Leaderboard
1. Billy Horschel (-4)
T2. Thriston Lawrence (-3)
T2. Sam Burns
T2. Russell Henley
T2. Xander Schauffele
T2. Justin Rose
T2. Daniel Brown
8. Scottie Scheffler (-2)
9. Shane Lowry (-1)
Billy Horschel, solo leader
After a double from Daniel Brown, who went bunker to bunker at the 18th, Billy Horschel is the solo leader headed into Sunday.
Horschel ends at 4-under
Billy Horschel couldn’t come up with one last save at the 18th. He bogeyed the final hole to drop to 4-under, which is just a shot behind Daniel Brown.
It’s been forever since an Englishman won the British Open in his debut.
The last Englishman to win in his major championship debut was Horace Rawlins at the 1895 U.S. Open.
With a birdie at the 16th, his fifth of the day, Daniel Brown is back in the solo lead again. Incredible
Billy Horschel, again
Billy Horschel is saving everything today. He just went up-and-down, and nearly chipped in, after his ball plugged into a bunker at the 16th.
Scheffler’s near ace
Scottie Scheffler just almost matched Si Woo Kim’s hole-in-one at the 17th! What a shot.
It’s not been getting any better, either.
What an incredible save from Billy Horschel to keep a share of the lead. He’s tied with Brown at 5-under now as they approach the home stretch.
A two-shot swing for Daniel Brown
Daniel Brown is the solo leader once again after a wild two-shot swing at the 12th. Brown made his birdie putt, while Shane Lowry missed a very makeable par putt to drop back to 4-under.
Leaderboard
1. Brown (-6)
2. Horschel (-5)
T3. Lowry (-4)
T3. Justin Rose
T3. Xander Schauffele
Lowry bogeys, drops back with Horschel and Brown
That didn’t last long. Shane Lowry, after a rough drive that hit a fan at the 11th, just bogeyed to drop back to 5-under.
He’s now tied up with Billy Horschel and Daniel Brown again in the lead.
Lowry back in solo lead
Shane Lowry is alone at the top again after Daniel Brown and Billy Horschel each make a bogey. We’ll see how long this last
Dustin Johnson from DEEP
This will have to go down as the putt of the day. Incredible
Backwards Hat Billy joins the leaders
Backwards Hat Billy is now a co-leader at the British Open. After his fourth birdie to close out his front nine, Horschel matched Lowry and Brown at 6-under.
Daniel Brown, co-leader
Shane Lowry just made a double at the par-3 8th after landing his drive in a bunker, which prompted a massive swing. Daniel Brown bogeyed, so the two are tied for the lead at 6-under.
Xander Schauffele and Billy Horschel are suddenly just a shot back. As for Lowry, well …
Only 3 players since 2000 have won The Open with more than one double bogey that week, the last being Mickelson in 2013. That was Lowry’s second double.
Just like that, Shane Lowry’s lead is down to just a single shot. Daniel Brown carded back-to-back birdies even after his errant tee shot at the 7th to get to 7-under.
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Daniel Brown, just like us
Daniel Brown just nearly took out Dean Burmester at the Postage Stamp … from the wrong hole.
Xander throwing darts
We came this close to another hole-in-one today at Royal Troon. Xander Schauffele just stuck one close for a birdie at the Postage Stamp to get to 4-under.
After a rough Friday afternoon weather-wise, several golfers took full advantage of briefly benign conditions at Royal Troon on Saturday morning.
Then the rain hit again.
Click the photo to read more about the early wave on Saturday at Royal Troon. (AP/Peter Morrison)
