Billy Horschel calls Xander Schauffele the ‘second best player in the world’ after losing to him at The Open
Xander Schauffele won The Open Championship on Sunday (July 21). The 30-year-old PGA Tour star posted a 6-under 65 in the final round to win the final Major of the year, beating Billy Horschel and Justin Rose by two strokes. Following this, Horschel has come out to laud the new Open Championship winner.
Horschel, who led most of Round 3 of the competition, noted that he was ‘disappointed’ by the loss. However, he brushed aside his emotions and lauded Schauffele for winning his second Major of the year. For the unversed, The Open winner bagged his first Major championship at the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, Kentucky, in May.
Horschel called Schauffele the ‘second best player in the world’ this year after Scottie Scheffler. The 37-year-old lauded his rival’s consistency in a season dominated by the World No. 1 player.
Speaking about Xander Schauffele in his post Open press conference at Royal Troon, Billy Horschel said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:
“Listen, he (Xander) is the second best player this year in the world. No one has played better than him in my opinion. He’s got two majors. I don't know if he's won anywhere else before the PGA (Championship), but he's been up there consistently, having chances to win.
"Obviously, Scottie (Scheffler) has got five or six wins and a major, but what Xander has done this year, the consistency he plays with, he's taken his game to another level. He deserves to hold that Claret Jug right now.”
Furthermore, Horschel recalled his earlier impression of Xander Schauffele. The eight-time PGA Tour winner stated that he predicted the new Open champion’s growth after seeing him play for the first time in the 2017 FedEx St. Jude Classic. He applauded the latter’s ‘grind’ to improve his game.
Billy Horschel on losing The Open to Xander Schauffele
Billy Horschel led The Open Championship at the end of Round 3. The ace golfer topped the leaderboard at Royal Troon beating the likes of Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose. However, Schauffele climbed back up on Sunday and took the win.
Commenting on the loss, Horschel said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:
“I'm disappointed. I should feel disappointed. I had a chance to win a major. I was in a really good position. I just didn't play -- I just made a few too many mistakes today when I didn't need to. But we'll look back on this in an hour, I'll be very happy with how I played, I'll be very happy with what I did this week.”
The experienced golfer noted that he started off Sunday great, making birdie on the first hole. However, he admitted to losing momentum when Schauffele was making a runaway charge.
It is pertinent to note that Horschel has never won a Major despite competing in multiple editions. The T2 finish this weekend was his best Major result after the T4 finish at the 2013 US Open.