Billy Horschel felt misunderstood. Now? He feels free – and hungry

THE SCENE: Talking tour (and TGL) life outside the Lodge at Torrey Pines right after a practice round at Farmers 2026.

This interview was originally conducted GOLF magazine. Horschel is not in the field in this week’s Players, but finished T13 at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, his best finish so far in 2026.

Dylan Dethier: You’re back and healthy and playing your 17th PGA Tour season. At least me THINK you are healthy. How do you feel about starting the year?

Billy Horschel: I feel amazing. I mean, I got my card out of college at 22; I thought about this knowing that I turn 40 this year. I don’t feel 39, but when I look at these kids coming out now who are under 30 — even Scottie (Scheffler), he’s been at it for a while, but he’s still 29 — it’s great to compete. I’d say when I came out here the average age was 34, 35, and I’d say there were 30 or 40 guys who were in their 40s still competing at a pretty high level. Now there are maybe 15 of those guys? But I still love it. I still have a fire and a drive to be great. And, of course, there’s a monotony to parts of the PGA Tour, doing it over and over, the daily routine of getting ready, but all I want to do is go play and compete.

DD: Do you remember what motivated you when you first came out? And is that different from what motivates you now?

BH: Obviously, when you’re first on the PGA Tour, you want to show you’ve got the game to belong, compete, win. But the goal has always been to put my name on the trophy next to the guys I’ve looked up to, from Tiger to Phil to Ernie to Greg Norman, Fred Couples, Jack, Arnie – all these guys. This is still the same. I’ve definitely proven myself to be a good player during this time, but the road has an end at some point, and you want to make sure you meet the goals you set for yourself when you first came out here.

DD: From the outside, though, the end of that road doesn’t seem to be anywhere near. Some of your biggest moments have come in recent years: winning the Memorial, winning the BMW PGA twice, playing in the Presidents Cup, competing in the majors. What’s next?

BH: Listen, I still don’t think I’ve reached my potential. There is a lot left in the candle. Unfortunately, when I’ve had a good season recently, I haven’t carried that momentum into the next season. In 2022, I played really well, won the Memorial, made the President’s Cup team, went into 2023 feeling really good — and then I didn’t play well. And then, in 2024, I sorted out some gear, went better and won twice – Puntacana and the BMW PGA at Wentworth – and got back to the Tour Championship. Going into 2025, I was thinking, Hey, this is the year I finally get a master’s degree. But I got off to a slow start and when I felt like I was starting to turn the corner, the hip injury. (Horschel missed a few months.) So it’s start, stop, start, stop. But I still believe. There is still so much I want to do. I haven’t entered the top 10 in the world rankings; the highest I got is 11th. I can still get there; I can go to the top five. Look, I wish I could be no. 1, although realistically thinking about trying to follow Scottie would be foolish. But I want a level of consistency over a period of time that I haven’t shown yet. That’s what I’m missing and what I’m chasing – that consistency and top-level play for the next two, three, four years and then I’ll accomplish whatever I want.

DD: Did you have childhood sports heroes?

BH: It was Michael Jordan, and I was a big baseball guy back then—Ken Griffey, Chipper Jones, I loved those guys. In golf it was Tiger, Freddie, Norman. Payne Stewart was there because of his fashion and because he didn’t care what people thought. I’ve always loved reading about those guys – their mindsets and perspectives, how they got better. I learned mostly from my parents, I think. They didn’t have one-sided advice, but they were great at showing, like, how you treat people, how you go about certain things.

DD: What about now? Maybe heroes isn’t the right word, but is there anyone you’ve spent time with whose work ethic you admire?

BH: Justin Rose comes to mind. Rosie has turned every stone to be great, and he has disciplined himself to do so. After he won the US Open (2013), I really studied him, paid attention to the things he was doing, and that gave me a little more confidence. Seeing him stick to his process and how many good things came from it has helped me stick to my plan, knowing that if I continue to be disciplined every day, great things will come.

DD: You’ve been one of the stars of TGL and it’s clear to see how much you’ve enjoyed it. You are a wild man out there. What has it been like to show another side of your personality?

BH: Man, TGL has been great. Like I said, I love the PGA Tour and everything we have here. But it’s a bit Groundhog Day. And so having TGL, which is something you never thought you could be a part of – a unique format, a high-tech simulator league, playing with your friends and friends who are incredible gamers? It revives you somehow. It exudes an energy and taps into that feeling from childhood when you just wanted to play golf. “Hey dad, take me to play.” This is like going to TGL.

But my wife said this last year in a match: How you see me on TGL is who I am most of the time. Look, I think I’m a little misunderstood. I’m not afraid to admit it. On the PGA Tour, I’m very, very focused and very driven because that’s something I really want to be great at. That focus is a strength, but people can see how I react to things on the course and think I’m miserable or, like, I’m not enjoying my life here or something. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I love the hell out of this. It’s just that when I don’t play at the level I expect of myself, given the time I put in, I get upset with myself and it comes out in a way that puts people off.

DD: That’s interesting and, I would think, challenging. Was there a moment when you remember first thinking, Jeez, the perception of me is so different from how I see myself?

BH: I think maybe around the US Open (2015) at Chambers Bay, when I made comments about the condition of the greens. I remember it was the first week that Fox took over the US Open, and they kept saying, “No, the greens are great! These guys are just missing the threes and fours because of the pressure.” I thought it was wrong, so I said something. Look, it was God’s honest truth: the greens weren’t championship caliber. I played good golf, finished in the top 25, but I was frustrated that the shots I hit weren’t true. I think people looked at me and said, “He’s a crybaby, he’s crying.” And I’m like, that’s not me. But early in my career I let it affect me if public opinion was against me. I’d be on Twitter trying to defend myself. It took a while to realize that it’s just lose-lose. So I don’t do that much anymore. I let people say what they want, and people who know me know how I am.

DD: As a Seattle resident, I am legally bound to tell you that the greens at Chambers Bay have improved greatly.

BH: I heard it! Look, what people forget is that I raved about the course, how beautiful it is – the scenery, the drama. But obviously things get thrown out. That’s okay.

DD: Is there any satisfaction, then, that fans like to watch you loose on TGL?

BH: Listen, human nature – it’s good that people see me as I am. But I have no interest in being, like, “I told you so!” When I talk to kids, though, I tell them to be careful how they perceive someone from the outside or on TV; they may be different in real life. I am familiar with Vijay Singh, for example. I live in Ponte Vedra (Flana, near Singh) and he has been great with me. He’s a better guy than people give him credit for. Is he a media darling? No. But sometimes perception isn’t quite reality. I think it goes both ways, though. Some people think, Oh, this guy is a good guy. Then they recognize and understand the opposite.

DD: Oh, tell me some of those names!

BH: (laughing) Maybe another time.

DD: There are big changes coming to the tournament with (new CEO) Brian Rolapp and the Future Competition Committee looking at the schedule going forward. As someone who’s been out here for a while, what are you excited about — or dreading?

BH: There’s a give and take here, but I’m excited. I may not have said it publicly after what happened at Chambers Bay, but for a decade I have been talking to the leadership and saying that the Tour needs to develop. Our biggest sponsors will want the best players and the best value for their money, and that means change. We cannot continue doing the same thing for more than 60 years. Some of these ideas — scaling back events and rethinking the schedule — have been in the works for a while. Now is the time to implement them. Brian and his staff deserve credit. They are working hard to create a schedule that will be more financially beneficial for the players, more exciting for the fans – it will boost the Tour and help it withstand any competition now or in the future. Living in Ponte Vedra, I see how hard people work behind the scenes at the Tour, so I have a lot of love for it.