Sam Horsfield withdrew from Open Championship qualifying after a disastrous front nine Tuesday at West Lancashire. The LIV Golf member carded a 7-over 43 on his opening nine holes before deciding his chances were shot and leaving the course.
The R&A later disqualified Horsfield because he didn’t formally notify officials of his withdrawal. It’s a technical distinction, but one that generated some pointed headlines, including a British outlet that declared: “LIV golfer walks out of Open final qualifying after horror show.”
Horsfield wasn’t having it. The 28-year-old Englishman took to Instagram to explain what really happened, pointing to a brutal travel schedule from LIV’s Dallas event.
He didn’t land at Heathrow until 4 p.m. local time and didn’t get to bed near the course until around 11 p.m. Then things got worse. A fire alarm forced him outside at 1 a.m., and he struggled to fall back asleep until about 30 minutes before his 6 a.m. alarm—which he then slept through.
“Fortunately, my caddie woke me up,” Horsfield wrote. “I felt completely dizzy and out of it all day. Don’t listen to the propaganda out there against LIV players by some of these pages. Hope this clears things up.”
The former University of Florida standout from Manchester has struggled this season with just one top-10 finish in nine LIV starts. He’ll be back in action next week at LIV Andalucia in Spain.
