After back-to-back top-four finishes at the Zurich Classic, Billy Horschel and former LSU star Sam Burns were frustrated by close calls here.
Saturday’s third round didn’t help their dispositions, especially with how it ended.
Burns’ second shot from 266 yards from the par-5 18th with a 3-wood landed 8 feet from the hole, but it kicked right and ended up in the pond guarding the green.
Horschel parred the hole, which the team had to use for his four-ball score. They carded a 9-under 63 that left them 20-under for the tournament, tied for 10th entering the final round.
While they were clearly disappointed by the unfortunate outburst, they continued to bicker.
“It’s the best shot I’ve ever hit in my life, literally,” Burns said.
Horschel added: “It fell into the water. It landed 8 feet from the hole. … If you look at that shot and see what happened, you can understand some of our frustration there, not only this year, but going back to last year.”
The poor bounce made a disappointing end to a happy day for Burns and Horschel, who were followed by large crowds for most of the afternoon.
“It’s amazing,” said Burns, a Shreveport resident. “I look forward to coming to this event every year. It’s definitely one of my favorites, seeing all the purple and gold out there and hearing the LSU and the go Tigers songs. It’s a blast.”
Come back with me
Two of the 80 two-man teams teeing off Thursday are playing in each of the six tournaments under the current format.
Charley Hoffman and Nick Watney made the cut Friday for the fifth time in their six starts as a tandem. Their best finish was a tie for fifth in 2017.
Kevin Tway and Kelly Kraft also teamed up for a sixth straight tournament, but did not play. Their best showing was third in 2017.
O’Charley
The 46-year-old Hoffman has been a regular at the PGA Tour’s annual springtime stop in New Orleans since his first visit here in 2006.