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MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 9, 2016

Billy Horschel

Augusta, Georgia

Q. I know you just ran through it, but what were your emotions when you saw the ball, it happened in slow motion almost?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Well, yeah, I was hoping the ball would stop so I could put my coin back on it. Because I knew what was going to happen. I mean, I knew that once the ball rolls, once it's in play, if it starts rolling, you have to play it from where it finishes and obviously I didn't have my scuba gear to play it from the water.
So, I just wasn't happy. I was good enough in the sense that I expressed some frustrations to the rules official, but it was nothing out of hand, nothing out of line. I just expressed that they wanted to get the course on a fine line and it's been, it's on a fine line today, but it's fair. I just, it's an unfortunate situation where a big old gust came through, my ball was a foot or two from a false front, and it started rolling and the wind kept pushing it to the false front and it went in the water.
So all in all it was a really good bogey. I was happy. I had a birdie putt. I went for the green in two. Hit it way left. I mean, just turned it over too much. Was in a really good spot. So it was possible to make a birdie and get back to 1‑under par, who knows what I can do on the last two holes. And I walk off thinking I'm going to be 1‑under par and I walk off 1‑over par. So unfortunate situation, bad luck, but I know the golfing gods, I think they owe me one, hopefully. Hopefully it comes tomorrow or in the weeks that follow.

Q. What did you express to the rules officials?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Well, I will say this, there was no, for me, I did a really good job of maintaining some composure and not ‑‑ and it wasn't their fault. They can't do anything about it. It wasn't their fault. They couldn't do anything about it. I didn't throw any curse words at them or say anything bad, I just expressed that I thought that it was just a little, you know, the course is on a fine line. When you get crusty greens, the way they want them all week, the moisture is out of them‑‑ but the ball's receptive going into it. But when you get them really fast and really crusty and get the winds blowing ‑‑ they were blowing around 20, 25 ‑‑ and you get close to a slope and the ball goes and it is what it is.
But, like I said, the setup is great, I have no issues with the setup and I have no issues with anything, it's just unfortunate luck and I don't think I‑‑ the two rules officials, I felt I was just expressing my frustration that I had a bad luck happened to me.

Q. So when you throw your hands up that's what you're thinking, it's just a fine line and everything's good?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Sure.

Q. Has there ever been a time in the past where you might not have reacted that well?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Oh, yeah.

Q. With that much composure?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, I mean, listen, everyone knows I'm an emotional guy. I'm just trying to learn as I get older to harness it a little bit. And, listen, it's bad luck. I'm not ‑‑ it was not the rules officials' fault, it's not Augusta's fault, it's nobody's fault for that happening. It's just an unfortunate situation where I had a 25 mile per hour gust, one of the biggest gusts all day, come and blow my ball and take it two feet to a false front and then a false front took it into the water.
So, like I said, it's nothing ever has happened to me like that in the past, I mean, that I can remember, and it's an unfortunate situation, hopefully it doesn't happen to anyone out here today.

Q. Can you think about trying to hurry your routine up before the putt?
BILLY HORSCHEL: No, my ball was on a flat spot. I mean I chipped it, hit a really good chip, it was good weight, but I played probably about five feet not enough break. Should have played it probably about another five feet higher. But it was good weight and just took it a little further right.
Obviously, I took a light jog up there because I knew what could happen if it kept going. And the ball was still, it was in a little flat spot, it was eight feet below the hole, I had an uphill putt, you can't ask for anything more. And the wind just gusted.

Q. Would you have done anything differently?
BILLY HORSCHEL: I mean, it wasn't blowing, the wind was blowing like this (Indicating) I just caught a big gust, there's not much you can do. I mean, I'm smart, in the past, where I had, where I thought a ball could move, I kept my coin there and not put the ball down until I was ready to hit the ball.
And in that case I didn't think anything about the wind coming to blow it or anything. I mean, it wasn't gusting that hard, it was in the flat spot, and so, I mean, I'm not going to do anything differently, things happen, it is what it is.
Like I said, the course is set up really fair, you see guys out there playing good rounds of golf. Anything around par, a couple under, a couple over is a really good round of golf. I mean, I think the course is a great setup, I've had no issues with it at all. None of the players have any issues with it at all. They have ‑‑ I think they want to stop another 18‑under happening this week, so they did a good job of having perfect conditions, too, I mean, nice dry weather, a lot of sun.
So, like I said, it's just an unfortunate situation and that's what it is and I'll move on from it and hopefully tomorrow I come out and I play a really good round of golf.

Q. Is that a rule that should be changed? Because there's nothing that you could have done, I mean it it's an act of God more than anything else.
BILLY HORSCHEL: I'm not in the business of changing rules.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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