VIDEO: Billy Horschel slams putter, does fish dance, torches USGA greens
U.S. Open

VIDEO: Billy Horschel slams putter, does fish dance, torches USGA greens



Billy Horschel couldn't hold it in anymore. Despite an impressive 3-under 67 on Sunday at Chambers Bay, Horschel turned his final round at the 2015 U.S. Open into a Sherman-esque torching all the way to Puget Sound.

Horschel got off to a great start, with three birdies in the first five holes. However, when he missed his par bid on the sixth hole, he appeared to slam his putter head into the green near the hole. (Later, Horschel said he didn't get his putter within a foot of the grass -- or what's left of it. He said he understood why it looked that way on TV.) He rallied for a birdie on the par-5 eighth and turned in 4-under 32.

The antics didn't stop there. After another missed short putt, Horschel mocked the way his ball wobbled down to the hole, doing a fish dance with his hand low to the green. He then responded to the crowd with a sarcastic smile and some mild jawing as he tapped in.

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Horschel played the final nine holes visibly annoyed, well aware that he had already caused some controversy. He shot even-par 35 on the back nine, then proceeded to lay into the USGA after the round. He said multiple times that he had lot "a lot of respect" for the USGA this week.

"When you come to a championship tournament, obviously you're going to find out who the best player is, but when you neglect one of the skills or take away one of the skills from a player, and that'd be putting, and if you're a really good putter, a great putter, and they take that away from you, that's what skill that you have above everybody else," he said.

He added, "It's not due to the fact that my stroke is off or my speed is off, I've hit a lot of really good putts that have bounced all over the world. So it's just frustrating."

The Florida Gator wasn't annoyed only about the putting surfaces but bemoaned the lousy fan experience.

Fans are pretty much unable to watch the par-5 eighth, and most fans are forced to sit in grandstands to watch action with any kind of decent view. The mounding -- and that's a word of understatement -- has made it almost impossible for fans to line the fairways or discover players by almost stumbling on golf action.

"The fans were awesome," Horschel said. "I just wish they were closer to us so they would have seen the golf course the way we were and see the shots we were hitting and they would have a closer feeling to us. There's no fans on No. 8, none. I've never seen a golf course at any championship ever where there's no fans on a hole at all."

So, he didn't like the greens. He thinks the fans got hosed. But, still, he enjoyed himself?

He hedged: "But I had a great experience here."

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Ryan Ballengee

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