'Sadistically enjoyable': Troon's back 9 bites back hard on Saturday

Billy Horschel leads the Open Championship by one stroke heading into the final round, but if there was one winner from Saturday at Royal Troon, it's the closing nine holes at the iconic course.

That stretch is one of the toughest challenges on the rotation of courses that host The Open, with the test made exponentially harder by the prevailing wind blowing into the players' faces.

However, the opening two rounds at this year's event saw the wind shift direction behind the players on the closing stretch. That led to 400-yard drives being hit on the 18th hole - turning the 450-plus-yard challenge into a pitch-and-putt.

The wind turned for Saturday and took up a more familiar direction, bringing carnage to the final holes as a result. The back side played almost two full shots over par for the day, a number that would have been significantly higher if the rain the final 12 groups faced was around the entire day.

Here's what some of the players in the final groups had to say about the test at Troon.

Scottie Scheffler: 1-over 36

"I think that was probably the hardest nine holes that I'll ever play. I shouldn't say ever, but it's definitely the hardest that I've played to this point, I think."

Scottie Scheffler actually produced one of the shots of the day on the 238-yard par-3 17th in very difficult conditions. The World No. 1 absolutely pounded a 3-wood that ended up just three feet from the hole - a remarkable shot under the circumstances. The final group of the day was Shane Lowry and Dan Brown, who both opted for drivers on the hole and failed to find the green.

Justin Rose: 1-over 36

Justin Rose made the humorous description of "sadistically enjoyable" in a television interview after a remarkable par save on the 18th hole. When he was asked to delve deeper into the experience, the 43-year-old needed to harken back to his days as a junior golfer for comparison.

"I mean, the cumulative clubs that I hit into the green in terms of length of club, I don't think I've ever - not since I was a junior have I played a round of golf where I've hit 4-iron into 10, 2-iron short at 11, 8-iron into 12, 3-wood into 13, 4-iron into 14, 3-wood into 15. Sixteen is a par-5, 3-wood into 17, 2-iron into 18."

Shane Lowry: 5-over 40

Shane Lowry struggled more than anybody on the closing stretch among the names at the top of the board. His 5-over 40 saw him fall from the lead all the way back to ninth place, three shots behind Horschel. Unsurprisingly, he didn't have many glowing remarks about the stretch after the round.

"Driver, driver into 15. Sixteen 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. Bear in mind, my driver pitched about 220 yards on the 17th hole. So, yeah, it's not much fun out there."

Dustin Johnson: 1-over 36

Dustin Johnson usually wouldn't be thrilled with a round of 1-over, but the 40-year-old was quite pleased with his day before offering the stark assessment of the closing stretch.

"I mean, the back nine, that's the hardest nine holes I think you could ever play in golf right now, into the wind and rain. I mean, it's so long I could barely reach the par 4s. I had to smash two to get there, same with Brooks (Koepka). That's how long it was playing."

The good news for the field on Sunday is that there's little to no rain in the forecast throughout the day. The wind is also supposed to lessen slightly from what they've experienced thus far in the week but will be the same as we saw Saturday.

That will likely mean whoever emerges victorious Sunday will do so thanks to strong play over the treacherous finish at Troon.