Billy Horschel reduced to tears after shooting 84 at Memorial: "It sucked today"

Billy Horschel was emotional during his post-round press conference after an 84 at the Memorial Tournament.

02 Jun 2023

It's been a tough stretch of golf for Billy Horschel, and after a 12-over 84 on Thursday at Murifield Village, it appears he's finally hitting his breaking point.

"It sucked today," he told reporters in a raw and emotional post-round interview.

Horschel, 36, is the defending champion this week at the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament.

It's one of this year's designated events, but more importantly, it's hosted by the legendary Jack Nicklaus in his home state of Ohio.

Horschel won the tournament last year by four strokes over Aaron Wise to claim his seventh career PGA Tour title.

And in addition to FedEx Cup points, a trophy, and a paycheque, he also earned a special moment with the 18-time major champion:

A time honored tradition @MemorialGolf @BillyHo_Golf shares a special moment with @JackNicklaus pic.twitter.com/O5sHrOWcK0
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 5, 2022

However, heading into this week at Jack's Place, Horschel's confidence was low.

He told reporters on Wednesday that he was playing "abysmal" golf, and detailed a few moments from this season that he reached low points.

On one occasion, after he missed the cut at Bay Hill, Horschel said he had a 45-minute "lively" discussion with his caddy and stats guy. Afterwards, while sitting in his car, Horschel said the emotions took over.

"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," he told reporters.

"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 -- not that people cry a lot, I don't know. But I broke down and I cried a little bit. I had tears."

Unfortunately, things didn't improve in time for Thursday's first round of Horschel's title defence.

Instead, the Florida product shot a 12-over par 84 for the second-worst round of the day. He'll need nothing short of a miracle to make the cut this weekend in Ohio.

Fighting back tears, Horschel still spoke to the media afterwards, giving a raw and emotional interview:

"Yeah, I mean, it's tough right now. As I said, I mean, I'm working really hard, trying to do the right things, and the team's doing everything really well. It sucked today. Yesterday, 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.

"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 just, it's tough. Yeah, I mean, I'll keep working. As much as I would love to throw in the towel and not come out tomorrow, 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."

Here's the full clip:

"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/4Cx7r6hmPL
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 2, 2023

In the PGA Tour's Instagram post of the same video, players, caddies, and fans showed their support of Horschel.

Fellow player, Harry Higgs, recounted a story of Horschel from the Masters:

"He spent a few minutes congratulating me on Saturday morning for making the cut at my first Masters and went out of his way to highlight what an accomplishment that was," Higgs wrote on the Instagram post. "This was before his round as well where most guys don’t even look up at one another. You will be back in no time Billy. Hell you and me both. The struggle will be worth it in the end. That’s what I’m telling myself!"

Michael Block, the club professional who became the star of the PGA Championship a few weeks ago, also sent Horschel a positive message on the post. He wrote:

"@billyho_golf you are an absolute stud and I’ve never had anything but the utmost respect for you as a man and father. One round doesn’t mean anything…."

A week following the PGA Championship, Block shot his own score in the 80s at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Horschel will tee off at 7:41 a.m. EDT Friday for the second round of the Memorial Tournament. Davis Riley leads after 18 holes at 5-under par.

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Lead Image: PGA Tour/Twitter