Ryder Cup should go ahead on time, says Europe’s Harrington

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The lights simply could not be explained. Billy Horschel was in a car with his mother and his younger brother that evening, driving down U.S. 1 along the Indian River lagoon in central Florida. The arched lights glowed yellow above the water as if to outline a bridge. Only, there was no bridge on the horizon. “I was like that’s weird, the Melbourne Causeway looks so nice and then it hit us that we had passed the Melbourne Causeway and there’s no other bridge for the next 40 or 50 miles,â€� Horschel recalled. “So it was just weird that there were six perfect lights that were hovering over the Indian River in a perfect little arch that looked like a bridge.â€� Horschel, his mom and brother weren’t the only ones who had seen the lights, either. In fact, so many people called the police to inquire about them that Florida Today ran an article the following day. “I can’t remember if they were still there when we passed them and then they disappeared or they disappeared when we were driving by,â€� Horschel said. “But the newspaper ran a story there were like mysterious lights on Melbourne Beach-type of deal. “I can’t remember how they phrased it but a lot of people called in.â€� We’re talking UFOs here, folks. At least that’s what many people thought — and in retrospect, Horschel agrees. “I believed in UFOs before that but that sort of sparked my interest,â€� he explained. “I just think that to think we’re the only people in this universe that are alive or living or anything like that is sort of naive in my opinion.â€� Horschel is in good company. In fact, an article earlier this year noted that Florida ranks second to California in sightings, according to the National UFO Reporting Center in Davenport, Washington. Horschel, who will defend his AT&T Byron Nelson title this week, said he first became interested in the UFO phenomenon when he was a teenager. The 2014 FedExCup champion loves to watch shows about the paranormal on the Discovery Channel and National Geographic. His grandfather and an uncle worked at NASA, too, which might have fanned the flame. “I’m not big on reading books, but I’ll sit there in front of the TV and watch stuff like that all the time, or anything to deal with  history,â€� he said. “So I don’t know why I believe, but obviously watching those shows (made me think more about it).â€� Horschel is also well-acquainted with the conspiracy theories about a potential sighting in Roswell, New Mexico, back in 1947. The United States military first reported it was a weather balloon that crashed, but reversed course in the 1990s and said it was a nuclear test surveillance balloon from Project Mogul. Others aren’t so sure, though, insisting there was a cover-up. The local newspaper ran a story on July 8, 1947, with the headline: RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region. The legend continues to this day, and Horschel is intrigued. “I’m sort of into that era, 1951, and all that secretive stuff,â€� Horschel said. “I like knowing stuff, stuff that people don’t know about or people keep hidden-type deal.â€� Horschel also thinks the Bigfoot phenomenon might be more than just folklore. But he acknowledges that of the two — UFOs or Sasquatch — having a giant hairy ape walking upright in the forest might be the least believable. “But when you think about every day new species and new things are being discovered in this world it sort of makes you think is this Bigfoot thing really real,â€� he said. “… So who knows?â€� Horschel said few of his peers know he believes in UFOs and Bigfoot. He’s prepared for the teasing that may follow this article — but at the same time, he knows he’s not alone in his beliefs. “Millions of people have seen UFOs and have video recordings,â€� Horschel said. “And when you think about pilots — these guys are in the skies hours and hours and they know what a plane is and  they know stuff and when they talk about their experiences and what they’ve seen and they can’t justify what they’ve seen, it sort of makes you think a little bit.â€� It does, indeed.

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TORONTO, Ont. – Growing up in Kentucky, the opportunities were likely limited for Justin Thomas to feel what it’s like to skate onto ice to the unmistakable bang of smacked hockey boards. Saturday at the RBC Canadian Open that electricity was turned up loud, and as Thomas entered The Rink (the par-3 16th) after rolling in a 1-foot, 2-inch putt for eagle on the previous hole he was serenaded by the Canadian crowd like he was one of their own. “I don’t know why it’s happening, but I’m very appreciative of the fan support here in Toronto. I said to… Rory (McIlroy) and Corey (Conners) that it felt like a major a bit out there,” said Thomas. “I knew, obviously, very passionate sports fans up in this part of the world and then having two years away from this tournament, I knew they were going to be ready to go this year.” Thomas shot a bogey-free 63 Saturday and St. George’s Golf and Country Club and is just two shots back of the 54-hole lead held by Tony Finau and Rory McIlroy. Sam Burns, ranked second in the FedExCup standings, is amongst those tied with Thomas at 9 under. Thomas, Finau, and McIlroy will be in the final group together on Sunday. Golfers will go off split tees and in threesomes with anticipated weather in the Greater Toronto Area. With this much firepower at the top of the leaderboard heading into Sunday’s finale in Toronto, the return of the RBC Canadian Open is very much delivering. “I mean, without sounding cheesy, it makes me pretty happy inside seeing this,” said Thomas of the top-heavy leaderboard heading into Sunday in Toronto. “There’s no other place I would want to be playing and it’s just, obviously with a tournament like this and the history that it has and how long it’s been played, had a lot of great past champions and venues and drama. “And it looks like it has a potential tomorrow to produce a little bit more of that and create some more history.” Thomas’ 63 – clipped by Finau’s 62 as one of the low rounds of the week – was “easy,” he said. The winner of the 2022 PGA Championship had as complete a day as you could ask for, sitting inside the top-10 in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, Tee to Green, and Putting. “I didn’t do anything great. I just didn’t do anything bad,” said Thomas. “But I took advantage of some of the opportunities when I had them there in, kind of the middle of the course, and just stayed patient and waited for my run.” Finau, who has won twice on the PGA TOUR, finished poorly on Friday – bogeying two of his final three holes – and that lit a fire in his belly to come out with a solid Saturday round. He birdied his first hole of the day, went out in 5-under 29, and added a birdie on his final hole of the day to put a bow on a 62. This was his lowest round on the PGA TOUR since a matching 62 in the second round of The American Express in January 2020. “I knew I was playing well, but at any given moment on this golf course you can make a number. So, there’s no reason to get ahead of myself, I just tried to stay in the moment as much as I could and put together a nice round all the way to the end,” said Finau. “And any time you’re at the top of the leaderboard and have a chance to win on a Sunday on the PGA TOUR it’s exciting.” McIlroy, meanwhile, is trying to go back-to-back for the first time in his TOUR career. No one on the PGA TOUR has repeated as champion at two different venues since Jim Furyk at the RBC Canadian Open in 2006 and 2007. He was quick to heap praise on the Canadian fans, who after two years of cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were thrilled with the buzz of a Saturday afternoon in the country’s biggest city. “The atmosphere out there today was, I mean I can’t remember the last time I played in an atmosphere like that,” said McIlroy. “It was really special.” There’s another carrot the likes of McIlroy, Finau, Thomas, and Burns don’t need to worry about Sunday – a spot in The Open Championship. The Canadian Open is part of the Open Championship Series and is offering two spots to golfers who are not otherwise exempt and who finish inside the top eight come Sunday. Wyndham Clark and Alex Smalley (tied for third), and Austin Cook and Jim Knous (tied for seventh) are in the mix for a spot to compete for the Claret Jug. There’s also the race for low Canadian still to be settled. Nick Taylor, who sits tied for 15th through three rounds at St. George’s, is a shot ahead of Corey Conners. Neither Taylor – who was as high as tied for second through the early part of Saturday – or Conners, the top-ranked Canadian in the FedExCup, has ever won the Rivermede Cup. “The ovation on the first tee, walking off a lot of greens on to the tees, it’s something that I don’t get every week, so it’s nice to feel that buzz,” said Taylor. “I think everyone’s really excited to have the event back.” The excitement was high, and the Canadian Open is certainly living up to the hype.

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