PGA Tour star frustrated by false Ryder Cup claim: 'It does my head in...'

Billy Horschel has taken to social media to hit out at what he deems false claims that 'faster greens are an advantage to Americans'. 

Horschel, 38, headed over to X / Twitter to voice frustration at comments made by Golf Channel in the build up to the Ryder Cup at Bethpage, which gets underway on Friday. 

While the American is eager to see his nation regain the Ryder Cup in New York this Sunday, he's certainly had enough of an old adage that he believes no longer rings true.

"Been watching the coverage of the Ryder Cup the last couple days and the old adage of faster green speeds is an advantage for the Americans does my head in," wrote Horschel. 

"Yes, back 20+ years ago it was but now a days with majority of European players in America and many more tournaments on DP World Tour playing at better courses with faster greens, that old adage doesn't hold any water anymore.

"Can't wait to watch this week though. As I've said, this could possibly be the best Ryder Cup in the history to date."

The green speeds on average at Bethpage are said to be running to around 13 on the stimpmeter, and potentially up to 14 on some holes. 

Quick greens are deemed anything over 12 on the stimp. 

A stimpmeter is a three-foot aluminum bar with a V-shaped groove that contains a ball-release notch. 

To use it, a golf ball is placed in the notch and the bar is slowly lifted until the ball rolls out. The resulting distance (measured in feet) the ball travels indicates the green's speed.

Horschel unfortunately never had much of a chance to qualify for Keegan Bradley's US Ryder Cup team after spending 20 weeks on the sidelines recovering from hip surgery. 

Despite representing the stars and stripes at the 2022 Presidents Cup, Horschel, who won the FedEx Cup in 2014, has never played in the Ryder Cup. 

The American returned to action to defend his title at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth two weeks ago, but he went on to miss the cut. 

As a result of missing more than four months on the PGA Tour, Horschel has slipped from 15th to a current 35th in the OWGR.