Billy Horschel is first player on range Tuesday at 3M Open

Billy Horschel is a man of his word.

After an emotional Sunday at The 152nd Open, which he began with the solo lead and shot 3-under 68 but finished second to Xander Schauffele, the veteran Horschel said he’d be on the range at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday in Minnesota to begin preparations for this week’s 3M Open.

Not only was he on the range, but he was the first man on the range at TPC Twin Cities shortly after the Minnesota dawn.

The statement was lofty at the time. Horschel, 37, was in serious contention into the final nine at Royal Troon and finished with three straight birdies but couldn’t keep pace with Schauffele, who carded a final-round 65 that he described as the round of his life. Might Horschel consider taking the week off to recuperate and process the emotions of his best chance at a major title? Horschel moved to No. 26 on the FedExCup standings with his tie for second at The Open, well positioned to make a run at a TOUR Championship appearance and potentially a second FedExCup title. He would have been justified in returning to his home Florida and unplugging for a bit.

But he flew Monday from Scotland to Minnesota and is back on the grind, eyeing his ninth career TOUR title at the penultimate event of the FedExCup Regular Season. After struggling at times in 2023, notably a first-round 84 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday in his title defense, Horschel returned to the winner’s circle at this year’s Corales Puntacana Championship and last week notched a career-best major finish in his 43rd major start.

He also responded Monday to countless messages from The Open’s aftermath, including a video message he posted to X, formerly Twitter.

“A long flight from Scotland, had a lot of time to think about yesterday, to read all the support … thank you guys for all your support,” Horschel said. “Truly means a lot to me. It was a fun week … nearly a great, special week, but Xander played great golf. He’s played great golf all year, he’s played great golf for several years now, and to see him finally get his first major at the PGA (Championship) and get another one, two majors later is impressive. He deserves it. He works hard, puts everything into the game of golf, and he deserves what he’s getting out of it right now.

“But for me, disappointed, I think it hit me on the plane how close I was to winning a major, the opportunity I had, but we get back on the horse. We’ll play well this week, we’ll work hard to get better so the next time I have an opportunity to win a major, hopefully we can capitalize on it and be the one holding the trophy at the end.”

The work continues.