Billy Horschel watches the green turn in the final round of the Open Championship, where he holds second.
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BLAINE, Minn. — On Tuesday morning, Billy Horschel was alone in the driving range at TPC Twin Cities. His sleep was short, but he was sleeping soundly.
“I always get up early. I'm usually between 7 and 7:30,” said Horschel, speaking at the 3M Open on Wednesday. “I think there may have been one guy who was ahead of me and that was Henrik Norlander, and he gets up early every morning.”
Horschel was congratulated by several visiting professionals at the end of the range. No, he didn't win the Open Championship last week, but he came very close. He bogeyed 54 holes and didn't play badly on Sunday (he birdied the last three to shoot a 68) but Xander Schauffele ran away with a bogey-free 65. Horschel's T2 was his best finish ever. good for $1,443,500 payment. And a ton of confidence, which has no monetary value but can lead to huge monetary gains.
Last year, as the defending Memorial champion, Horschel shot an 84 in the first round. He was still facing the media, obviously he was blown away and searching, he went deep into his round, struggle and fight. He said his confidence has never dropped. The video went viral on social media and was viewed millions of times, and cador actually helped Horschel grow his following.
“Well, [my confidence is] better than last year,” said Horschel on Wednesday. “Listen, it's really high. Is it the highest I've ever been in my career? No, but I feel really happy in my game, I feel a lot of ownership of everything I do in my whole portfolio. Todd Anderson and I have worked hard in every aspect to get better. Obviously hitting the ball was a big deal there last year. I feel very comfortable with my game and I understand when I'm still a little off, I know the corrections I need to make, I know the adjustments I need to make to get back to where I need to be.
“Listen, after where I was last year after Memorial until now, I'm in a completely different place, and hopefully I can continue to build and add that confidence going forward.”
Horschel's 2023 was no worse than that 84, but he missed the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the first time in years.
This year, he had a mixed start to the season but won the Corales Puntacana tournament (opposite RBC Heritage) in April. He missed the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open the week before the Open, but that was his only stroke play cut in his eight appearances since winning. He reached 33rd in the World Ranking, his highest since April 2023. He's also 26th in the FedEx Cup (and playing the season-ending Wyndham Championship in a few weeks), so he won't be missed. playoffs for the second year in a row.
And now he's finished his first season with a top 10 finish (he was also T8 at the PGA Championship). Before this year, Horschel, despite his eight PGA Tour wins, had another top ten finish, which came at the 2013 US Open. He finished fourth that year in what was his first major start as a professional. Thirty-eight starts before his next top 10.
He said on Wednesday that he thinks he's been doing the best job of managing the majors — including preparing them going into them, mentally and physically — in the last four years. He said the turning point was the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot.
“I played very well, I think I was in the top five with 27 holes left and I didn't play well, I didn't handle that situation well,” said Horschel. “But since then I've just felt the feeling that I have and the mind that I have is in a better place. Sometimes it takes a while to see the results of that. It's good to finally see those results, it's good to finally get validation for all the hard work we've been trying to do.”
At the Open, he said this year he tried to see himself holding the trophy in any tournament he plays before he goes to bed every night. He admitted that he did a better job than that at Royal Troon.
But really, it just comes down to one word Horschel mentioned: “belief.”
“When I go into that week I truly believe that I can win and I see that I can win,” he said.
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