Billy Horschel Gets Teary-Eyed After Shooting Opening Round 84 At The Memorial, Deserves Credit For Not Ducking Media

Billy Horschel had a no good, very bad day during Thursday's opening round of the Memorial. He walked off the course after hitting the ball 84 times and finds himself in second to last place having only beaten Chad Ramey on day one, who posted an 88.

A PGA Tour player shooting anything in the 80s is always alarming, but what's so eye-opening about Horschel's 84 is that he's the defending champion this week. Going from winning the tournament 365 days ago to shooting 12-over on the same golf course shows that the game of golf doesn't make all that much since, even for the best players on the planet.

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Horschel finished his first round of play without a single birdie and carded three double bogeys en route to the big number.

To his credit, Horschel didn't duck the media after his awful opening round. Instead, he took the time to answer a few questions, and couldn't help but get emotional while explaining how tough it was out there on Thursday.

After describing the state of his game, Horschel made it clear that he wouldn't be withdrawing from the tournament despite the fact that he wouldn't be making the cut.

"There's plenty of those guys out here on Tour that would make an excuse about being injured and everything. But I'll show up and I'll go out there and give it my all like I always do and try and find something, try and play well, and move on," Horschel said.

"I mean, it's a day and I've had plenty of these days this year. Not this bad, but it's just a day. We'll get by."

While Horschel didn't pick up any new supporters with his play on Thursday, he certainly did by being genuine with the media after what was probably the worst day he's had on a golf course since turning pro.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.