“I believe karma is a b**” – Billy Horschel reveals what he said in Nick Dunlap's ear after their Masters exit

Nick Dunlap had a disastrous start to the Masters 2025. The 21-year-old carded 90 in the first round on Thursday, the worst round in the competition since Ben Crenshaw shot 91 in 2015. However, the two-time PGA Tour winner returned to Augusta National on Friday and fought. He hit fewer fairways Friday, birdied No. 3, 4 and 8, before dropping shots in the final three holes to finish 1-under, 19 shots better than his opening round.

Billy Horschel, who also missed the cut this weekend, seemed impressed with the young golfer. The 38-year-old revealed sending words of encouragement to Dunlap on Thursday night after the latter’s forgettable round. Interestingly, the eight-time PGA Tour winner followed up the mindful gesture on Friday as he put his arm around the young golfer as they walked off the 18th on Friday. He applauded the former US Amateur champ’s fight.

Horschel revealed that he told Dunlap in his ears that he gained a “lot of respect” for not withdrawing after the disastrous opening round. He added that “Karma is a b****” and extended confidence in Dunlap’s future.

Revealing his conversation with Nick Dunlap, Billy Horschel said, as quoted by PGATOUR.COM:

“I told him, ‘I’ve got a lot of respect for the way you handled it and you’ve earned a lot of respect from players and from the millions watching.’ I truly believe in karma, and he could’ve withdrawn, but he didn’t. I believe Karma is a b**** and I don’t know if he will go on to win next week, but the good karma will come around.”

Dunlap also seemed happy after round 2. The young golfer addressed the 3-wood he hit on the 15th on Friday and dubbed it “the first free golf swing I've probably had in four weeks.” He seemed more confident and stated that he “just got to put in the time” to build his form after the Masters exit.

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Nick Dunlap on not exiting the Masters after round 1

Apart from Billy Horschel, several other golfers also came forward to laud Nick Dunlap returning for round 2 after the forgettable opening. The young golfer turned down driving down to Hilton Head, South Carolina, or Jupiter, Florida after day 1.

Addressing the same, the 2024 Barracuda Championship winner stated that he ‘would never let himself’ voluntarily exit a competition early. He revealed practicing late into the night behind his Airbnb on Thursday.

Nick Dunlap said on Friday after finishing last on the Masters 2025 leaderboard, as quoted by PGATOUR.COM:

“I would never let myself do that… It's hard to put everything you have into something and feel like you're not getting any better. I don't have very clear thoughts at all when I'm on the golf course right now. Yesterday was like trying to hold on to a rope, and you can't hold on to it. It's a really, really bad feeling. You just can't stop it. It's just whatever bad can happen does happen… I'm a competitor, and I love this game. It doesn't really love me back right now.”

It is pertinent to note that Nick Dunlap sprung onto pro golf scene at a very young age. The Alabama native shot 59 as a 12-year-old and went on to won the U.S. Junior at 17. He clinched the U.S. Amateur title after his freshman season in 2023 and won The American Express last January, before turning pro.

It is also noteworthy that he’d come into the Augusta weekend after back-to-back missed cuts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship and the Houston Open.