Saturday 13 May 2017 17:46, UK
Billy Horschel has played down criticism of his behaviour during the second round of The Players Championship after he almost hit his caddie with a petulant club toss.
Horschel was battling to make the cut after an opening 75 at TPC Sawgrass, and he was heading for an early exit until giving himself a lifeline with birdies at the 11th and 12th lifting him back to four over for the tournament.
But his chances of making the weekend took a huge hit when he pulled his seven-iron into the water hazard at the par-three 13th, and he compounded the error by pitching over the green from the drop zone.
However, Horschel managed to limit the damage to a bogey as he played an inventive fourth shot with a five-wood from the run-off area, and his ball found the bottom of the cup almost 50 feet away.
Unfortunately, the American did not appear to be in the mood to celebrate a dropped shot as he flung his five-wood into his bag, narrowly missing his caddie, and he drew further critics for marching off to the next tee and leaving his bagman to pick his ball out of the hole.
But Horschel, who went on to find more water at 17 and miss the cut by five shots, gave a detailed explanation of the incident in a video posted on his Twitter account, insisting there was no malice in his club throw and that he was laughing off the situation.
The 2014 FedExCup champion dismissed talk of a rift with his caddie and, although he admitted his actions "didn't look good", he won support from fellow professionals including Andrew "Beef" Johnston, who tweeted: "Done one thing wrong. Never launched club into water. Really wasn't bad. Good guy."
Watch the video above to what you make of Horschel's actions on the 13th, and don't miss our extensive live coverage from Sawgrass throughout the weekend on Sky Sports The Players.
