Q. Billy, when it's as difficult as it was today, is it easier to temper your expectations knowing that everyone's making bogeys, everyone's making mistakes?
BILLY HORSCHEL: It really is. We all knew the conditions were going to be tough today with the wind blowing. You knew it was going to be -- the greens are going to get very glassy, very frictionless. So you've just got to understand what a good golf shot is out there.
Fooch and I, we were talking about going to the 1st tee, hey, we've just got to really be smart out there, commit to the shot we're trying to hit, and then at the end of -- after all that, we've got to accept whatever the turnout is and move on to the next shot.
We did a really good job of that out there. So I'm really pleased with what Fooch and I did out there today.
Q. You grew up coming to this golf tournament. To be this close, 18 holes, in contention, what does it mean?
BILLY HORSCHEL: It would be very special. You said I grew up an hour from here, came here as a kid, caddied in the Pro-Am multiple times. A lot of family and friend support around here. Then you add on Arnold Palmer's name to it. It would be something very special that at the end of my career I could say that was a special victory.
But I've got to do a really good job of controlling my emotions more and not getting ahead of myself. And really the goal is just try to enjoy the process tomorrow, enjoy what tomorrow is going to be about. When I do that, I seem to handle the situation very well.
I'm excited about what tomorrow's going to have in store, and hopefully after it's all said and done, it would be a nice -- hopefully, there will be some celebration at the end.
Q. Billy, how has the galleries been out there? Other than the Phoenix Open, are you happy with how the golf fans are acting?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, I want the fans to be crazy. I want them to enjoy themselves out there on the golf course. I want them to get loud and have fun out there. I just want them to do it in a respectful way. I think that's all us players would like.
We played a year without fans, and it absolutely sucked, to tell you the truth. It sucked. So it's nice to see all the fans out there enjoying themselves, having a good time, and I think the fans have been great this week. It's been great all year.
Listen, just like in any sport, there's certain fans that are just idiots. There's idiot fans in Gator nation. There's idiot fans that call themselves Seminoles, and there's idiot fans that come out to the PGA TOUR. I mean, it's a very small percentage. It's tough to put all fans and supporters in one barrel and blame everybody when it's all an only of few.
Like I said, the majority of the fans have been unbelievable all year, and they've been great this week.
Q. Given the crosswinds today, the firmness of the greens, just the whole test, can you give us a sense of a shot or two of how extreme the difficulty is?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, perfect example is number -- I mean, there was a lot of them. Number 14, the par-3, we've got pitching wedge in our hands. How many times are you happy to just hit the green with a pitching wedge for a PGA TOUR pro?
We were just like play up the middle of the green. There's a Mastercard logo eight, nine paces left of the flag, and all I'm trying to do is hit the middle of the green. I wasn't even trying to go at the flag, and I did a really good job. I pulled a pitching wedge, so I got a touch lucky it carried.
This is awesome golf. It's testing and it wears you down, but this is the golf that I think -- I can't even say we all enjoy all the time, but we do enjoy because it does reward fairly good golf shots on a regular basis. It rewards people who think their way through a shot and how it needs to be played to really turn out properly.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports