By Andrew Both
AUGUSTA, Ga. (Reuters) – Walking around with stained white trousers and wet feet on Augusta’s pristine course made Billy Horschel stand out for all the wrong reasons on Saturday but at least the American saw the funny side after he ended up on his backside at the 13th hole.
After his second shot at the par-five 13th ended submerged in the Rae’s Creek tributary in front of the green in the third round of the Masters, Horschel decided to remove his shoes and socks in an attempt to hit the ball out of the water.
But as he descended the grassy embankment in his white pants, Horschel slipped on the immaculate grass.
Luckily the fall bruised his ego more than his body.
Smiling sheepishly, Horschel quickly got back on to his feet before asking playing companion Phil Mickelson whether the fall had left a stain.
“He said, ‘there may not be one there’ and he looked and said, ‘yeah, there’s one there, sorry, buddy’,” Horschel said, recounting his conversation with Mickelson.
“Obviously that’s going to be a highlight that’s played on social media … I’ve ripped my pants a few times. Thankfully there were no cameras.”
Horschel regrouped and successfully blasted his ball out of the water and onto the green and made a par en route to a 73 and a four-over-par 220 total.
The 34-year-old American is playing his seventh Masters.
(Reporting by Andrew Both, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
