Billy Horschel proved a popular winner of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth after beating Rory McIlroy in a dramatic playoff.
Horschel’s eagle putt on the second playoff hole made BMW PGA Championship history and caused McIlroy yet more late heartache.
Horschel won’t feature at the upcoming Presidents Cup despite enjoying a superb second half of 2024. And golf commentator Smylie Kaufman has heaped praise on the 37-year-old’s decision to head to Europe for the DP World Tour flagship event.
Smylie Kaufman loves Billy Horschel’s DP World Tour decision
Speaking on the latest edition of the Smylie Show, Kaufman admired Horschel’s decision to head to Wentworth after the PGA Tour concluded at East Lake.
“Billy Horschel is one of the few Americans who has made it a priority to go and play on the European Tour and DP World Tour,” said Kaufman. “I have to give him a lot of credit for doing that, as it’s not easy to do after a very long season.
“You’ve got such great fans and audience over there in Europe, and watching him there at the Open Championship, you would’ve thought he was from Birmingham. It did feel that way. He’s kind of the adopted European Tour player that’s American.”
Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele should follow in Billy Horschel’s footsteps
Considering that the PGA Tour snaps up the best DP World Tour players each year, those Stateside must start making moves to give something back to the European authorities.
Potentially offering bonuses to PGA Tour stars who play in the Irish Open or BMW PGA Championship is the route forward.
The likes of Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele participating at Wentworth or Royal County Down is an exciting prospect, and decision-makers should push for it.
The DP World Tour proved last weekend that it’s still capable of producing excitement; adding one or two big names to the mix would add a little bit more interest to this famous stretch in the season.
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