The line between success and frustration on the PGA Tour can be as slender as a 6-iron, and sometimes the secret isn’t found digging it out of the dirt as much as cleaning out the cobwebs.
After missing the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial, Billy Horschel didn’t like how he had played nor how he and caddie Mark “Fooch” Fulcher had managed things through a bothersome two days.
They talked it out and Horschel agreed that he can get in his own way, sometimes playing faster than he needs to play, letting his impatience get the best of him.
At Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, Horschel arrived with a fresh mindset, a more patient approach and the result was a comfortable four-stroke victory over Aaron Wise at the Memorial Tournament.
It was Horschel’s seventh career PGA Tour victory and built on a steadily gathering momentum that began in March 2021, when he won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play championship over Scottie Scheffler, and continued last fall with a victory in the BMW Championship at Wentworth, the showcase event on the DP World Tour.
Starting the final round with a five-stroke lead and with a chance to win for the first time with his wife, Brittany, and their three children watching, Horschel was never seriously challenged.
When he holed a 53-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th, Horschel was four strokes clear and able to enjoy the walk toward the traditional winner’s handshake with host Jack Nicklaus behind the 18th green.
“It’s special, it truly is,” Horschel said of winning Nicklaus’ event.
Eight years after he won the FedEx Cup with a torrid end-of-season run, Horschel has become a consistent presence on leaderboards and among the steadiest players on tour.
He is a creature of routine on the course, his pre-shot machinations not quite venturing into Keegan Bradley territory, but they are distinctive enough, the way Horschel steps into his stance one foot at a time, almost as if he’s sneaking up on the ball.
He has found what works for him.
Horschel and Fulcher reset the rhythm of how they wanted to play, and a message from his wife helped Horschel get ready for the Memorial.
“Sometimes when you miss cuts you’re not playing that bad,” Horschel said. “I wasn’t playing that bad. A couple bad course-management decisions we normally don’t make.
“Brittany and I flew home Saturday morning (after the Colonial) and she said, ‘Would you rather make the cut and finish middle of the pack and not feel good about your swing or go home, work with (Todd Anderson) for a couple of days, have a good clear picture and have a chance to win at Memorial?’
“Who could have predicted all of this was going to happen?”
Ron Green Jr.