25 March 2023 , 21:57
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Billy Horschel wowed fans with his "wizardry" as he showcased a new way to pick up the golf ball at the WGC-Dell Match Play.
World no.24 Horschel endured a miserable day as he crashed out at the $20m tournament's last 16 stage - but his surprise party trick certainly caught the eye at the Austin Country Club. Horschel, a big West Ham fan, progressed through to the knockout stages in Texas with an impressive victory over Jon Rahm on Friday.
But the 36-year-old - winner of this event in 2021 - was hammered 5&4 in an all-American clash with emerging star Cameron Young on Saturday. And while Horschel may have failed to produce anywhere near his best golf against Young, he still managed to go viral with his unique ball pick-up technique.
The Match Play is one of the rare tournaments on the professional golfing calendar where players are not always required to find the hole, with unmissable putts given by opponents as "gimmes."
And Horschel was hailed for his majestic trick as he flicked his putter into the air and somehow caught it with the ball still attached to the club.
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The clip - already seen over a million times across the PGA Tour's social media platforms - has left fans asking one question: 'Just how on earth did you manage that?'
Horschel spun his putter in the air as he showed off the new party trick"It's wizardry!" one fan said. "Been working on that for weeks I bet?" another added, while a third joked: "The only part of this I’m capable of is missing the putt."
"That is how you flex a gimme," one user wrote, with plenty of golf fans vowing to attempt to replicate the never-seen-before trick on their local course this weekend.
Horschel's new move came with a new Ping putter that he will now use in his bid to claim his first major at the Masters in two weeks time.
He revealed before his defeat to Young that he was forced to change the most important club in the bag this week after it had become damaged in transit.
“Travel probably,” he clarified when asked how his putter had bent. “It was bent probably 3 or 4 degrees closed because I putted with it Sunday before I hopped on a flight, and I brought it out of the bag on Monday, and I was like, wow, this putter is not looking the same anymore.
"It happens. We all know it happens. Pros aren't any different than amateurs with clubs and travel. Yeah, it's unfortunate, but I've got a putter now that I feel happy with."