A year ago Billy Horschel won the Memorial Tournament by four shots and golf will never have felt more straightforward. There would be a Presidents Cup debut later in the year but this year has been a real struggle. In his pre-tournament press conference he talked about there being two lows but his opening round was far beyond what has happened this season.
The seven-time PGA Tour winner, he also secured the PGA at Wentworth in 2021, opened up with a 12-over 84 at Muirfield Village which featured no birdies, six bogeys and three doubles. There was even a double-hit in there which would have counted as two shots before the new rules were introduced in 2019.
The 36-year-old was visibly emotional as he described what had just gone on in his post-round chat with the media but, all credit to him, he fronted up and gave us all an insight into what pro golf is like when things aren’t going anywhere near as planned.
“It’s tough right now. I’m working really hard, trying to do the right things, and the team’s doing everything really well. It sucked. Sort of thought I didn’t hit it very good in the pro-am and even after the round it wasn’t bad. I mean, on video it looks good. Technically it’s not that far off,” Horschel explained.
“But I’m not able to hit the cut the way I want. I can’t get the ball to start left the way I want. So then when it comes down to having to be more precise on a course like this, it’s tough. I’ll keep working. As much as I would love to throw in the towel and not come out (on Friday), that’s just not in me. I’m just not one of those players.
“There’s plenty of those guys out here on Tour that would make an excuse about being injured and everything. But I’ll show up and I’ll go out there and give it my all like I always do and try and find something, try and play well, and move on. I mean, it’s a day and I’ve had plenty of these days this year. Not this bad, but it’s just a day. We’ll get by it.”
“I’ll go out there and give it my all like I always do.”Transparency and raw emotion from defending champion Billy Horschel after an opening round 84. pic.twitter.com/4Cx7r6hmPLJune 2, 2023
Horschel’s group, which included Patrick Cantlay and Hideki Matsuyama, were put on the clock on the 13th and then there was the double-hit on 14, which still resulted in a double-bogey, before Horschel limped home with another pair of bogeys.
“I’m making a big number on every single hole it seems like. I’m struggling every hole. I was taking a lot of…
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