Let's set the scene: Billy Horschel is 26 years old and has never won on the PGA Tour. He's been to qualifying school four times, passed the test three times, but is at that stage of his career when he's at risk of becoming the equivalent of a career Triple-A baseball player. He's starting to put it together in 2013, though. The last month has been particularly impressive, with three top-10s in a row and a second-place finish at the Shell Houston Open.
So here he is at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, starting Sunday's round two shots off the lead. It starts off with four pars, and then there's a weather delay that lasts nearly three hours. When he returns to the course, he gets hot — really, really hot. Six-birdies-in-a-row hot, and suddenly he's in the lead. He takes it all the way to 18 — one shot up on D.A. Points, the man who beat him in Houston — where he hits his drive in the left rough. And then?
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports over the weekend.
Roger Federer defeated local hero Andy Murray in four sets to win his seventh Wimbledon title, tying Pete Sampras's record for the most all-time titles. But the champion angered the crowd during Murray's emotional post-match speech when he kept leaning over with a dumb grin and urging Murray to "do the Braveheart monologue." Murray ignored him the best he could, but as he choked up while thanking the crowd, Federer could be heard off camera shouting "freeedoommmm!" and giggling.
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports over the weekend.
Nick Swisher broke R.A. Dickey's long scoreless streak with a three-run homer, and Robinson Cano hit the game-winning solo shot in the eighth as the Yankees beat the Mets 6-5 to win the Subway Series. The victory gives the Yankees legal control of New York's subway system, but manager Joe Girardi said they may still let the Mets and their fans use the 7 train to Citi Field. "Ehhh," said former pitcher John Rocker, "I wouldn't do that. For a couple reasons … "
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Wednesday.
LeBron James scored 29 points, grabbed eight boards, and dished out seven assists as the Heat eliminated the Knicks with a 106-94 Game 5 win. After the game, Amar'e Stoudemire stood with clenched fists near a wall in the locker room where three fire extinguishers were hung in close proximity. "Why dost thou tempt me, Lord?!?!" he screamed to the ceiling, before concussing himself with a head-butt.
Two moments from this weekend's Masters, courtesy of Phil Mickelson:
1. On the 15th hole Saturday, a reachable par-5, Mickelson's second shot hit the green and rolled off the edge into a valley. It wasn't a great place to be, especially with the pin on the left side of the green near the water. The camera caught him rubbing his head beneath his KPMG visor and slumping his shoulders in that desperate deflated posture Mickelson embodies so well. But when he reached the ball, the gears in his gambler brain started turning. It's easy to spot, because his eyes get bigger and bigger.
“We’re keeping an eye on the situation and looking at numerous options,” Slugger White, the Tour’s vice president for rules and competition, said in a statement. “But there won’t be a decision made on changing or moving tee times until Friday, when we have a better idea of what the storm will do.”
In an instance when our brightest shining PGA stars' lives are at risk because of various natural disasters, nothing instills more confidence in us than having a person named Slugger in control of logistics. In fact, there are very few situations where we wouldn't trust a Slugger with our lives. That being said, we reserve the right to remove said trust in the happenstance that Slugger is not the name on his birth certificate and is just some bullshit nickname from college.
