Inside a ‘sadistically enjoyable’ Saturday at The Open

In the beginning, there were knowing glances and mad grins, everyone in it together as they tried with various levels of success and high comedy to play in a drenching rain.

Such is links golf, but even amidst such camaraderie, Mother Nature almost always wins.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler missed a 3-foot putt.

Shane Lowry, the 54-hole leader and 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year, got to 8 under par through seven holes only to drop six shots over the next eight. By then the wind had changed yet again, into the players’ faces coming in, and the temperature had dipped.

The 152nd Open Championship was about survival, for while the early starters got relatively calm conditions, the leaders, as expected, got drenched. Caps were turned backward, umbrellas were at a premium, and dry gloves and towels were scarce if to be found at all.

By day’s end, Billy Horschel had best survived the war of attrition, carding 2-under 69 in the thick of the downpour at Royal Troon to take a one-stroke lead into Sunday, as the Floridian seeks his first major title on the Scottish coast. Horschel stands 4 under, one stroke clear of a six-player gaggle: Thriston Lawrence, Sam Burns, Russell Henley, Xander Schauffele, Justin Rose and Daniel Brown. That’s two Olympic gold medalists (Schauffele and Rose), two players who qualified via 36-hole Final Qualifying (Rose and Brown), two Americans chasing their first major title (Burns and Henley), a four-time DP World Tour winner (Lawrence) and a whole lot of unpredictability in store.

That unpredictability was on full display Saturday afternoon, where the only constant was a soaking rain that turned par 4s into par 4.5s and gave players difficulty in even reaching crosswalks that were intended to be easily cleared. Those who relished the elements had the best chance to hold their positions on a Moving Day where most movement was backwards.

“So we knew it was going to get some rain, but the wind was down for the most part. Then even the back side, it wasn't blowing too hard,” Horschel said afterward. “Then we got to 13, and it really picked up. We played five par 5s on the back side, and that's not even including No. 16. Yeah, it was a tough one out there today. Just knew going into the back side that it was going to be a grind no matter what. You have to find a way to grind down and make a score."

Rose best encapsulated the proper mindset with two words: “Sadistically enjoyable.”

Weather is professional golf’s great equalizer, especially in a technological era that has rendered many of the game’s classic courses into driver-wedge festivals. Saturday was like a carnival on the Scottish coast – the day’s early portion befitted the Ferris wheel that overlooks Royal Troon, with the afternoon evolving (devolving?) into a gnarly water rapids ride. It threw players’ minds into the blender but also allowed for moments of brilliance – two holes after that missed 3-footer, Scheffler struck his tee shot at the 238-yard, par-3 17th to 4 feet and converted birdie. Scheffler hit fairway metal into the normally meaty par 3 which was playing more like 280 yards on Saturday afternoon, which wasn’t even the longest club hit in – a few groups later, Lowry and Brown each hit driver into the par 3.

“Driver, driver into 15,” Lowry recounted of the par-4 15th. “(No.) 16 playing ridiculously long. Driver into 17. Then you're standing on the 18th tee wondering if you can actually hit the fairway, if you can reach the fairway, and it's 230 yards to the fairway.”

“The back nine, I think that was probably the hardest nine holes that I'll ever play,” added Scheffler. “I shouldn't say ever, but it's definitely the hardest that I've played to this point, I think.”

The Scottish have a saying, “Nae wind, nae rain, it's nae golf,” which predates the game’s technological boom. Viewed through a current lens, it’s a reminder that the game’s original challenges endure to this day. DP World Tour's Daniel Brown, an Englishman who grew up playing competitive links golf on a regular basis, had no problem playing the “Railway” par-4 11th as a three-shot hole, wedging to 10 feet and converting a satisfying par. Those types of gritty saves helped Brown, in his first major start, withstand a closing double bogey to stand one back of Horschel into Sunday. It was a day to throw any game-planning out the window and rely on instinct.

“It was difficult,” Brown said.

Royal Troon is perhaps best known for its par-3 eighth hole, the “Postage Stamp,” which measures roughly 120 yards but vexes players with its narrowly green and propensity to play amidst swirling winds. The hole marked the start of Lowry’s downfall Saturday – he arrived at No. 8 with the solo lead but tugged his tee shot into the Coffin bunker behind the green and blasted his second shot into fescue beyond the green, en route to a soul-crushing double bogey. (Lowry finished with a 77 but is still in the mix, three off the lead.) The contenders hadn’t yet seen the worst of things at that point, but as it turned out, it was a harbinger of what was to come.

Rainfall isn’t expected Sunday, but wind gusts should remain prevalent throughout the day with gusts exceeding 20 mph – meaning the seaside links should yield uncertainty once again. At its heart, professional golf is meant to challenge players and entertain fans – and Royal Troon delivers a masterclass.

“It turned into an absolute survival test out there,” Rose