Billy Horschel defends his title in The Memorial Tournament, but the 12 months since his victory at Muirfield Village have not been as successful. The American has had four more top-ten finishes since then, but there have also been disappointments, including nine missed cuts.
During his preparation for the tournament, Horschel opened up about his struggles this season. After describing it as “pretty abysmal,” he explained his performances in two tournaments in particular, the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March and RBC Heritage the month after, left him emotional as he sought answers to his loss of form.
He said: “I had two low points. Bay Hill after missing that cut, we had a discussion with Mark Horton, my stats guy and Mark Fulcher, who was caddying for me. And it was a lively discussion for about 45 minutes in the parking lot.
"I went back to the room - I think even before I got back to the room, just in my car, just thinking about the discussion and thinking about where the game was and where I want to be and where I’m not at the moment. I sort of just broke down a little bit.”
Horschel’s account of that turmoil is at odds with the more combative side of his personality that he occasionally shows on the course, and he admitted it was out of character.
He continued: “As much as people have seen me get upset and a little angry on the golf course, on the flip side of that, I’m not very much an emotional guy that way. I’m not a sappy guy - not, I wouldn’t say sappy, not in a bad way - but I don’t cry very often. But I broke down, and I cried a little bit. I had tears.”
The 36-year-old then explained he reacted similarly the following month after another disappointing display. He said: “I had another one at Hilton Head after missing that cut. I played a decent first round and was in a good position after the second, going into round two, and didn’t play a good round.
"And I mean it was just an emotional, it was just a mental sort of grind and stress and fatigue and just on the range there for about 30 seconds just bending down, I had my hands in my head - or had my head in my hands, just sort of, just trying to hold back the tears for a little bit.”
Horschel puts those emotional moments down to his love for the game. He said: “This game means so much to me, and I love the game of golf, and I’m so passionate about it. Not just myself, but to get everyone, get other people involved and to see other people succeed. It’s just one of those things that the love I have for it that when you’re not getting what you want out of it sort of sucks a little bit.”
The seven-time PGA Tour winner explained that, eventually, he regained perspective. He said: “I just had to sort of take it and relax and realize the earth isn’t falling, the earth isn’t going anywhere, nothing’s coming crashing down on me. We’re going to be okay. We’re going to figure it out.”
After Horschel’s missed cut at Harbour Town, he suffered a similar fate at the PGA Championship. However, there was a glimmer of hope at the Charles Schwab challenge with a T40.
In 2022, Horschel didn’t just win The Memorial Tournament, he dominated to cruise to victory by four shots. With that performance not too far in the past, he will hope this is the week he gets firmly back on track.
