Imagine this: Billy Horschel, one of the most flamboyant, exuberant live wires on the PGA Tour, living the quiet life as an English country squire.
Maybe he could wear one of those tweed jackets with patches on the elbow for afternoon tea.
The Ponte Vedra Beach resident and Grant-Valkaria native says it might happen one day. Such is the love he’s developed for England in numerous trips there, which has manifested itself in another way in becoming the first American to win the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship twice.
Horschel made a dramatic 25-foot eagle putt on the second playoff hole at Wentworth to beat Rory McIlroy on Sunday. He also won in 2021, becoming the first American to win the tournament since Arnold Palmer in 1975.
“I do enjoy coming over here,” the eight-time PGA Tour winner said during his post-round. “I do enjoy all parts of the U.K. I do fancy London, especially Surrey. I’ve made some great friends over here that I hang out with and spend time with.”
Horcshel also dropped this tidbit.
“It wouldn’t shock me if somewhere down the road I do buy a little place over here and spend some time over here in the summer when my kids are grown up and out of the house,” he said.
Horschel, a University of Florida graduate, has become so enamored of England he’s also become a West Ham soccer fan and carries a bag with the club’s logo.
“’Up the Hammers’ and ‘Come On You Irons,’” Horschel said during a recent interview, quoting two West Ham cheers.
Horschel’s victory earned a spot in the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont and also berths in the next three British Opens. Two month after he tied for second in the Open Championship Troon, Horschel has jumped to third in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai Rankings and improved his World Golf Ranking to 17th.
The only question about a possible move to England: Can Horschel get a tweed jacket with orange and blue elbow patches?
Would International victory help Presidents Cup?
It’s a touchy subject with both Presidents Cup captains.
The U.S. has a 12-1-1 record in the Presidents Cup going into this week’s matches at Royal Montreal. The International team tied in 2003 and won its only match in 1998 at Royal Melbourne in Australia.
Only one player on either side in the Melbourne matches is not yet eligible for the PGA Tour Champions, Tiger Woods. That’s how long ago it was.
The question has emerged for both captains: would it be healthy for the matches is the International team won one?
After all, the Ryder Cup didn’t take off in popularity until Continental Europe was added in 1979 and began cutting into an 18-3-1 U.S. lead. When Europe won for the first time under the new format in 1985, it broke a streak of 12 U.S. victories and one draw (the U.S. retained the Cup).
Europe has gone 12-5-1 since and the event has taken off to unparalleled success in terms of worldwide attention.
In other sports, interest in Olympic men’s basketball and the America’s Cup in yachting increased when the U.S. met with more competitive opposition.
However, U.S. captain Jim Furyk, whose usually collegial nature has always masked an intense competitive nature, isn’t having any of that.
He even chewed out a veteran golf writer last week in Napa, Calif., for suggesting that it would be better for the competition for the International team to win one – with the implication that Furyk’s 2024 team should somehow be a sacrifice bunt for the sake of the PGA Tour’s international match-play event.
International captain Mike Weir said he’s also not approaching the matches with the idea that it’s a must-win for him to increase interest in an event that wages a seemingly unwinnable battle against the Ryder Cup for worldwide relevance.
“I haven’t thought about that. That’s not on my radar, to think that just because if I win or lose or our team wins or loses that it’s going to change the outlook,” said Weir, a native Canadian who is leading a team with three Canadian players at Montreal. “I think it’s heading in the right direction no matter what happens. Sure, it’s competitive. We want to win. We’re not putting any of that extra, ‘we need to do this to elevate the event.’ There’s been nothing from the Tour like, ‘you guys had better win or something like that.’ It’s just a great competition, and we’re not adding any layers on top of that.
DJ Waller, father get the Pebble experience
DJ Waller of St. Augustine a home-schooled high school senior and member of the First Tee — North Florida was one of the 81 junior golfers nationwide who earned a spot in the PGA Tour Champions Pure Insurance Championship last week at the Pebble Beach Golf Links.
He got a bonus day, thanks to the Champions Tour player he was grouped with, Fred Funk of Jacksonville.
A First Tee player and two sponsors are paired with each Champions Tour player during the first two competitive rounds. After that, the top-22 teams advance to the final round.
Waller’s team didn’t make the cut and he might have thought it was going to end there.
But Funk then came through with a job offer — he asked Waller to caddie for him in the final round.
Waller’s father Donald caddie for his son in the first two rounds and watched his son carry Funk’s bag in the final round.
Waller volunteers as a junior First Tee coach and has been a member of the organization for 13 years. He also signs in his church choir and plays in a community softball league.
The PGA Tour Champions is off this week and will be in Jacksonville Oct. 4-6 for the Constellation Furyk & Friends, at the Timuquana Country Club.
PGA Tour: Jim Furyk guides U.S. team in Montreal
Event: Presidents Cup, Thursday-Sunday, Royal Montreal Golf Club.
What’s the purse? None.
Who won in 2021? The U.S. team won 17.5-12.5 at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., to improve their record over the International team to 12-1-1. The International team’s only victory was in 1998 in Melbourne, Australia.
How to watch on TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday, 7-8 a.m.); NBC (Saturday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 12-6 p.m.).
U.S. team: Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Saith Theegala; captain Jim Furyk.
International team: Byeong Hun An, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Corey Conners, Jason Day, Mackenzie Hughes, Sungjae Im, Si Woo Kim, Tom Kim, Min Woo Lee, Hideki Matsuyama, Taylor Pendrith, Adam Scott; captain, Mike Weir.
Notable: Furyk captains the U.S. team six years after he was the Ryder Cup captain in a loss to Europe. … Harman, from St. Simons Island, Ga., Clark, Theegala and Henley are Presidents Cup rookies but Harman and Homa went 2-0 as partners in the 2023 Ryder Cup. … The Presidents Cup was last played at Royal Montreal in 2007 when the U.S. won 19.5-14.5. Weir went 3-1-1 for the International team and beat Tiger Woods 1-up in singles. … The PGA Tour resumes its FedEx Cup Fall schedule Oct. 3 with the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Miss.
LPGA Tour: Arkansas is last U.S. stop before November
Event: NW Arkansas Championship, Pinnacle County Club, Rogers, Ark.
What’s the purse? $3 million ($450,000 to the winner).
Who won last year? Haerun Ryu shot 64 in the first round and beat Linnea Strom by three shots.
How to watch on TV: NBC Sports App (Friday, 4:30-7:30 p.m.); Golf Channel (Friday, 8-10 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2-5 p.m.).
Area players entered: Auston Kim.
Notable: The Tour will head to Asia for the next month after this week, with stops in China, Korea, Malaysia and Japan.
What are the (golf) odds?
Presidents Cup: Hard Rock Bet has the U.S. as the favorite at –180. The International team is +210. A draw is +650.
NW Arkansas Championship: Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand is the favorite at +700, followed by Ryu at +800. The top American favorite is Lauren Coughlin at +1100.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Billy Horschel adds to success in England with second BMW Championship
