2015 Preview: Billy Horschel
Anyone want to guess where Billy went to school?
Welcome to the 2015 Golf Preview, where I’ll take a look at selected golfers and examine what to expect over the next twelve months. Today, we look at Billy Horschel.
The History
After a solid college career at Florida, Horschel turned pro in 2009 and made his first impact on the PGA Tour in 2013 when he finished second to D.A. Points at the Shell Houston Open and then followed it up with a T3 in Texas and a T9 at Harbour Town, so he was definitely a player to watch as the PGA Tour made their stop the next week at the Zurich Classic. Horschel closed with a final round 64, winning with a bomb on the 18th:
The final putt on 18 that gave Horschel the win at the 2013 Zurich Classic.
Horschel reacts to his first career PGA Tour win after a long putt drops.
2014 was set to be a big year for Horschel, but his start wasn’t the best, with only two top-10 finishes on the year as he entered the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He missed the cut at the Barclays and it looked unlikely that he would advance to the Tour Championship, but as he did in 2013, Horschel turned it on. After a runner-up finish in Boston, where he painfully sent his approach on the 72nd hole into the waste area well short of the green, Horschel won the following week at the BMW Championship and made it two wins in a row, winning by three at the Tour Championship and in the process, taking the FedEx Cup. How well did he play in the final three weeks of the 2013-14 PGA Tour season? Well…
Twelve straight rounds in the 60’s? Not bad, and after the $10 million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup, Horschel’s season earnings approached $15 million.
ESPN’s Billy Horschel Headshot
ESPN.com has a lot of great golf content, but their player headshots are, shall we say, a little outdated, with Ryan Moore leading the way. As such, I’m introducing the Ryan Moore headshot ranking system. Each player will get a ranking from 1-10, with 10 being the most outdated possible.
Here’s Horschel’s headshot from ESPN:
Same one as being used on the PGA Tour site, and it’s not really outdated. Nothing to see here.
1/10.
Why You Should Watch
Horschel, for me, is probably the most entertaining guy on the PGA Tour for a number of reasons. First, he’s never afraid to show his emotions. Second, he’s a great player, who when he’s on, strikes the ball as well as anyone in golf. Third, he is a true believer and follower of #TourSauce and lastly, he’s not afraid to take chances with his wardrobe:
There is no one on the PGA Tour like Billy Horschel.
Horschel in one GIF
Everything about Horschel is on the way up: the bank account, his world ranking, number of fans, and in 2015, his win total will rise too.
The Question
Where’s the ceiling for Horschel?
I think Horschel is like a lot of players in the pro game in the sense that when he’s hot, it seems like he can’t miss and the proof of that is what we already talked about with the two runs that he went on to get his three wins on the PGA Tour. From what I can see though, there’s still a little too much inconsistency in his overall game to project that he’s going to be a threat on a weekly basis, but I do think he’s a guy that should become that once a year winner type, and he’ll likely do it by firing four straight 65’s and blowing everyone out of the water.
Regardless of what his ceiling is though, we should be thrilled that Horschel is around because he just makes the game so much more enjoyable to watch.
AdamSarson.com 
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