Billy Horschel won The Memorial Tournament in 2022 but his form had fallen off the face of a cliff when he returned to Muirfield Village to defend his title the following year.
Horschel has experienced plenty of ups and downs during his time on the PGA Tour but with eight wins under his belt, the 39-year-old has enjoyed a fantastic career on the whole.
Earlier this season, the American was forced to undergo surgery to correct a troublesome hip.
Before that operation, Horschel had ambitions to make the US Ryder Cup team for the very first time.
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It’s fair to say that the eight-time PGA Tour winner would have made a big difference to the underperforming US team.
Horschel has an incredible fighting spirit and he proved that in spades during The Memorial Tournament two years ago.
Billy Horschel claims his 84 at The Memorial was the high point of his career
Horschel’s lowest point during his professional career came back in 2023 when he opened up The Memorial with a horrendous round of 12-over-par.
However, the American put an incredibly positive spin on that round.
When writing a column for The Players’ Tribune, Horschel made a stunning admission about his first round 84 at The Memorial in 2023.
He said: “Something changed for me at the Memorial in 2023. It’s a low point in my career. Maybe the lowest, actually. But also in this weird sort of way … it’s a high point. I know a lot of people remember my interview after I shot an 84 in the first round and got pretty emotional.
“I basically just got everything off my chest that I was feeling. I was feeling somewhat broken at that moment. It wasn’t just my score or my swing — it was this feeling of being lost.
“So I let it out. For me, when I opened up, when I let myself be vulnerable — it changed so much for me. I think about that day often because my career could have gone one of two ways at that point.“
The fact that Horschel came out and shot a round of even-par 72 on day two at Muirfield Village tells us everything we need to know about his character.
Billy Horschel’s round of 84 was a blessing in disguise
Horschel went on to say how he felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders the morning after he poured his heart out following his round of 84.
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He said: “I woke up that next morning and I physically just felt different. Like that pressure, that weight on my shoulders, it was gone.
“I had this clarity, this freedom. I shot even par. My game wasn’t fixed overnight. Neither was my mind. But I started going in the right direction for the first time in a while. And I think, most importantly, I had fun again.“
What a fantastic attitude Horschel displayed there.
All credit to him for licking his wounds and getting up to fight another day when it would have been so easy for him to withdraw and hide away for a couple of weeks.
And that is exactly the kind of mentality that should see Billy Horschel win a major at some point during the remainder of his career.
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