Billy Horschel reacts to late meltdown at the Cognizant Classic on social media
· Yahoo Sports
Billy Horschel just had one of the most dramatic back-nine meltdowns you’ll see on the PGA Tour this season.
Visit rhodia.club for more information.
Heading into the 15th hole, Horschel was hanging around in contention. He entered the infamous “Bear Trap” section with a chance of threatening the top of the leaderboard with a run of good play.
He’d just made three birdies in four holes to go two-under for his round, and four-under for the tournament. But the American finished his round at his hometown course two over and one shot above the cut line.
Horschel went four-over in his final four holes with two bogeys and a double. He airmailed the green on the 15th with his attempted chip, then snapped at a heckler, which was the beginning of his downfall.
After making the cut on the line, Horschel took to social media to react to this meltdown.
Photo by Raj Mehta/Getty ImagesBilly Horschel credits Jack Nicklaus for Cognizant Classic meltdown
It’s no accident that Horschel’s collapse started on the 15th hole. The stretch of holes from the 15th to the 17th at PGA National is called the “Bear Trap” because Jack Nicklaus designed them to make or break rounds.
On the 15th, a dangerous par three over water where Horschel’s troubles began, there is a sign next to a statue of a bear that reads: “You are now entering the Bear Trap. It should be won or lost right here.” The second sentence is a direct quote from Nicklaus.
Horschel wasn’t the first, and won’t be the last, to fall into the Bear Trap, and laughed it off on social media afterwards.
He posted to X: “The Bear got me today! 🤦♂️🤦♂️😂😂”.
At least he made the weekend and has a chance to get some revenge on Nicklaus in his next two rounds by righting those wrongs on the 15th hole.
The biggest Bear Trap meltdowns at PGA National
The most staggering Bear Trap meltdown belongs to Gavin Coles in 2007. Facing the par-three 15th, Coles stuck four consecutive balls in the water. By the time he finally found land, he walked away with an octuple-bogey 11, the highest single-hole score in the Trap’s history.
Even the greats aren’t immune. In 2016, Adam Scott entered the 15th hole with a three-shot lead during the third round. He proceeded to dump two balls into the lake, carding a quadruple-bogey seven.
While Scott remarkably recovered to win the tournament, his collapse remains a testament to how quickly the Trap can erase a dominant performance.
In 2024, Taylor Montgomery was sitting near the lead. He then found the water at the 15th, then hit the rocks on his drop, leading to a triple-bogey six that derailed his title hopes.
And while tied for third in 2021, McCarthy rinsed shots on both 15 and 16, tumbling from even par to four-over in a matter of twenty minutes.
Whether it’s a gust of Florida wind or the sheer sight of the blue hazards, the Bear Trap remains the ultimate mental and physical gauntlet on the PGA Tour.