Last month, Billy Horschel won the AT&T Byron Nelson largely on the strength of a tremendous week putting. It is safe to say that if he had been forced to play that tournament with a fairway wood in place of his putter, he probably would not have notched his first victory since 2014. However, he didn’t have to.

 
The same cannot be said about the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic where Horschel, often one to wears his emotions on his sleeve, broke his putter when he tossed it out of frustration. He had to finish with a different club on the greens.

Bullets

• Accidents Happen: Horschel reflexively threw his putter into the air after missing a 20-foot putt on the 8^th hole, his 17^th hole of the day.
• Rules, Rules: The head snapped off of the putter, but since the club was not broken in the course of normal play, Horschel was not allowed to replace the putter.
• Not Bad: Horschel played his final two holes using a fairway wood on the green, even two-putting from 50 feet on the final hole.
• Final Result: Horschel shot a 2-over 72 in the first round of the St. Jude Classic, carding just one birdie to three bogeys.

Video

Billy Horschel uses trusty fairway wood to putt after breaking putter. pic.twitter.com/7INmEu6zZO

— Pro Golf Buzz (@ProGolfBuzz) June 9, 2017

Quotable

“I’m not a guy who dwells on stuff. I let things roll of my shoulders.”
–Billy Horschel