William John Horschel (born December 7, 1986) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

Early years and amateur career

Horschel was born and raised in Grant, Florida. He attended Bayside High School in neighboring Palm Bay. Horschel accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Florida, Gainesville The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, where he played for coach

Buddy Alexander Stewart Murray Alexander (born February 20, 1953), nicknamed Buddy Alexander, is an American former college golf coach and amateur golfer. Alexander is the former head coach of the Florida Gators men's golf team. He is best known for coaching th ...

Florida Gators men's golf The Florida Gators men's golf team represents the University of Florida in the sport of golf. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They play their home ...

team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) competition from 2006 to 2009. He was a four-time All-American, including three first-team honors, and the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) player of the year in 2007 and 2009. He was a 2008 PING southeast all-region selection. He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in sport management in 2009. He represented the United States at the

Palmer Cup The Arnold Palmer Cup is an annual team golf competition for college/university golfers. From 2018 it has been contested between a United States team and an International team representing the rest of the world. The teams consist of 12 men and 12 ...

on two occasions in 2007 and 2008 gaining 4.5 points. He posted a 3–1 record for the victorious 2007 Walker Cup team. Horschel won the individual medalist honors at the 2006

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

, shooting a two-day score of 138 (60-78, −5) at

Hazeltine National Golf Club Hazeltine National Golf Club ( ) is a golf club located in Chaska, Minnesota, a suburb southwest of Minneapolis, United States. It is a private club and therefore closed to guests not accompanied by a member. The golf course was designed by Robert ...

Chaska, Minnesota Chaska is a city and the county seat of Carver County, Minnesota, United States. An outer ring suburb of the Twin Cities, Chaska is home to the Hazeltine National Golf Club and is known for its historic downtown area located on a bend of the ...

. His opening round of 60 was an 18–hole tournament and USGA record. He failed to make it past the third round of

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

. He also played in the 2006 U.S. Open, but he missed the cut.

Professional career

Horschel turned professional in 2009. In December 2009, he successfully gained a 2010

card through

qualifying school In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

. A wrist injury limited Horschel to four PGA Tour events that year, and he did not make the cut in any of them. In December 2010, he regained his Tour card through qualifying school to back up his medical extension should he fail to earn enough to secure his Tour Card. In February 2011, he made the cut at the

Mayakoba Golf Classic The World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Mexico, held at Playa del Carmen, south of Cancún. It debuted in February 2007 and was the first PGA Tour event in Mexico this century. Hist ...

, his first in eleven PGA Tour starts, finishing T13. Horschel finished the season 140th on the money list, granting him conditional status for 2012. Horschel finished third at the 2012 True South Classic, but only finished 147th on the 2012 money list. Horschel's best finish on the

Web.com Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. Th ...

is a 4th at the 2012 Stadion Classic at UGA. After his third successful attempt in four trips to Q School, he earned his PGA Tour Card for 2013. He began his season making the cut in every tournament he entered. He had three consecutive top-10 finishes before his breakthrough win at the 2013

Zurich Classic of New Orleans The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is a professional golf tournament in Louisiana on the PGA Tour, currently held at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, a suburb southwest of New Orleans. Beginning in 1938 and held annually since 1958, it is commonly play ...

in his 61st PGA Tour start. Horschel made six consecutive birdies in the fourth round and won by one stroke over

D. A. Points Darren Andrew "D.A." Points (born December 1, 1976) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. Early years and amateur career Born and raised in Pekin, Illinois, Points attended Pekin High School, and the University ...

. The win moved Horschel to third in the

FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. T ...

standings, third on the PGA Tour money list, and 49th in the Official World Golf Ranking. It earned him entry to the

2013 PGA Championship The 2013 PGA Championship was the 95th PGA Championship, played August 8–11 at the East Course of Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York, a suburb southeast of Rochester. Jason Dufner won his first major title, two strokes ahead of runne ...

, the 2013

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational The WGC Invitational was a professional golf tournament that was held in the United States. Established in 1999 as a successor to the World Series of Golf, it was one of three or four annual World Golf Championships (WGC) until 2021, when the n ...

The Players Championship The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as The PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The ...

, and the 2014 Masters Tournament. His world ranking also earned him entry into the U.S. Open. By the end of April 2013, Horschel led the PGA Tour in consecutive cuts made with twenty-three, dating from the FedEx St. Jude Classic in June 2012. That streak ended when he missed the cut at

, the tournament he played in after his win. In the 2013 U.S. Open, Horschel held the joint lead with

Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970), nicknamed Lefty, is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six major championships: three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), two ...

, at the halfway stage of the tournament. Playing in his first major as a professional, he was one of only two players under par after the second round, hitting all 18 of Merion's greens in regulation. He shot rounds of 72–74 over the weekend to finish at five-over-par for the tournament and four strokes behind eventual winner

Justin Rose Justin Peter Rose, (born 30 July 1980) is an English professional golfer who plays most of his golf on the PGA Tour, while keeping his membership on the European Tour. He won his first major championship at the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Golf ...

. Horschel finished T4 in his first major as a professional and moved up to 34th in the world rankings and 4th in the FedEx Cup standings. Horschel earned his second win at the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

BMW Championship and moved to 23rd in the world rankings. The next week, he won

The Tour Championship The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...

East Lake Golf Club East Lake Golf Club is a private golf club 5 miles east of downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1904, it is the oldest golf course in the city. East Lake was the home course of golfer Bobby Jones and much of its clubhouse serves as a tribu ...

and with it the

. The win also moved Horschel to 14th in the OWGR. Two days after winning the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup, Horschel became a father for the first time. In May 2017, Horschel won the

AT&T Byron Nelson The AT&T Byron Nelson is a golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, currently hosted by TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, northeast of Dallas. Held in May, it is one of two PGA Tour stops in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex – which until the 2020 ...

in a playoff over

Jason Day Jason Day (born 12 November 1987) is an Australian professional golfer, PGA Tour member and winner of the 2015 PGA Championship. He is a former world number one in the World Golf Ranking, having first achieved the ranking in September 2015. ...

. In April 2018, Horschel won the

with partner Scott Piercy. In March 2021, Horschel won the

WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play The WGC Match Play, currently titled as the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play for sponsorship reasons, is a professional men's golf tournament that has been held since 1999. It is the only one of the World Golf Championships to have been contested ...

defeating

Scottie Scheffler Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. From March to October 2022, he was World Number 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He won the 2022 Masters Tournament. Early life Sc ...

2 & 1 in the final. This was his first World Golf Championship victory. In September later that year, he won the

BMW PGA Championship The BMW PGA Championship is an annual men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour. It was founded in 1955 by the Professional Golfers' Association, and originally called the British PGA Championship. History The BMW PGA Championship ...

by shooting a final-round 65. It was his second European Tour victory. In June 2022, Horschel won

Memorial Tournament The Memorial Tournament is a PGA Tour golf tournament founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus. It is played on a Nicklaus-designed course at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus. The golf course passes through a large n ...

Muirfield Village Muirfield Village is an “upscale” golf-oriented community in the central United States, located in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus. Origins Founded by Jack Nicklaus, it is named after Muirfield, Scotland, where he won the first of h ...

Dublin, Ohio Dublin is a city in Franklin, Delaware and Union counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 49,328 in the 2020 census with a census estimate of 49,037 in 2019. Dublin is a suburb of Columbus. The city of Dublin hosts the yearly ...

, his seventh PGA Tour title. In September 2022, Horschel was selected for the U.S. team in the

2022 Presidents Cup The 2022 Presidents Cup was the 14th edition of the Presidents Cup golf competition, held at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, from September 22–25, 2022. This was Quail Hollow's first time hosting the Presidents Cup. The matches ...

; he won one and lost two of the three matches he played.

Personal life

Horschel met Brittany Nelson when both were golfers at the University of Florida. They were married in 2010 and have three children. Horschel is also a supporter of

West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, h ...

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (7)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

European Tour wins (2)

* The

is also a Rolex Series tournament.

Results in major championships

''Results not in chronological order in 2020.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (twice) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
WD = withdrew
C = Canceled after the first round due to the

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order before 2015.'' ¹Cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

pandemic
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

: 2007 (winners),

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

: 2007 (winners) *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eise ...

Professional * Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 2013 *

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

(winners)

References

External links

* * * *
Horschel's Twitter page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horschel, Billy American male golfers Florida Gators men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Florida People from Grant, Florida People from Jacksonville Beach, Florida 1986 births Living people