MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 4, 2022

Billy Horschel

Quick Quotes

BILLY HORSCHEL: The right side, I hit a drive right today, wasn't planning on it but I hit one right, and I had a shot to the green, went up and over the trees. From what it looked like on the Google Maps or Eureka or whatever it was that showed the hole, looked like when you hit it right you might have a little bit more of a shot, but the tree short of blocked out a little bit more in the sense that you've got to maneuver the ball one way or another, you don't have like a clear shot.

But I think it's one of those holes where I aimed it at the scoreboard all the time and I feel like if I miss it right then you were blocked out by the trees. I think the other thing people haven't talked about is the fairway has been contoured differently now. Maybe about eight yards, ten yards right of that scoreboard from the tee sort of slopes right to left, and the other side slopes left to right. And then if you hit it far enough, you actually get a kick forward right to left, where in the past that fairway sort of sloped back at you a little bit, and the ball really wouldn't run out for a medium-length hitter. If you were a longer guy you could carry it over that and get a little bit more downward slope of the fairway.

Yeah, they contoured the fairway a little bit differently, and people talked about that; they took down the right side a little bit more, and I see it, but I don't think it's as severe as what I thought it was going to be. Maybe if you're back by that bunker you're a little bit lower than you've been in the past, and I think that's what guys are talking about. That Larry Mize chip isn't there anymore.

But yeah, I mean, 11 has changed a little bit, 15 has changed. Obviously -- I hit a really good drive today, and I think I would have hit a 5-iron, maybe a 5-iron with the old tee box, but yeah, I had to hit 5-wood in. I think I would have had -- tee box being up about 15 yards more, I would have been hitting more in the flat part of that fairway where I'd get a little bit more of a kick, and now I'm landing more into the upslope into that fairway, so the ball is not going to run out as much.

The longer guys still have the advantage on that hole because if they fly it far enough, they fly it to a flat spot to sort of a downhill spot and it will kick and run out a little bit more.

Q. You talked about it yesterday, but just the fact Tiger is back out here, what does that say about his determination and will?

BILLY HORSCHEL: It's amazing. What word haven't we used to describe Tiger in any form or since? He still amazes us even at, what is he, 46 now? With everything he's gone through, with all the injuries and with all the personal stuff, he's always -- he still has that drive and that fire within him to still play golf. I was talking to a good friend of mine, Mark Noble, he plays for Westham football club over in England, a team I support, and we were FaceTiming each other last night and we were saying, here's a guy who's made butt-loads of money. He's got more money than anyone would need in your life, and after everything he's gone through with the back surgery, before the accident, and now with the car accident coming back, he could have said, you know what, I've done a lot in this game, I don't need to do anything more, but it just shows you how much he loves the game of golf, how much he loves being out here, and how much fire is still within him to play.

I think to me, one thing -- I think one reason there's still the fire within him is that he wants to leave on his own terms, and I think with the back injuries, he came back because he couldn't leave on his own terms. If he was going to be done with golf, it was because he had to leave for some other reason than his back. He wants to come give it his all, and if it's not there anymore, then he can say, hey, I've given it my all and I'm leaving on my own terms, so he's leaving on his own accord.

I mean, it's great to see him. The first time I saw him since the car accident -- the last time I saw him was 2020 here, and then I didn't see him in Riv in '21 because I don't play that tournament, I hadn't, so next time I saw him was the golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony. I went to it, and I saw him afterwards and we chatted a little bit, and so it's just great to see him. I'm a fan of his. Obviously he's become a really good friend of mine. But at the end of the day I'm still a golf fan. He's still a role model of mine. To see him hitting golf balls at Augusta at the Masters, getting ready to play, I don't know if he's playing, I don't know that answer, but to me if I was in his shoes, I wouldn't be doing everything that I am to get ready to try and play this tournament and not play.

I think the only reason he's not going to play is if he doesn't feel ready or if there is -- just his foot, leg, back, whatever it may be sort of kicks up and then he just doesn't feel ready to play.

It's awesome to be here. There's always buzz around this place. You guys know this. But there's just another level of buzz to see him and see him play. Shoot, I've thought about it in the past, and I may be on the first tee watching him tee off if my tee time works out and everything just because it's such a special moment.

We all know this, and I mean, I'm blabbing on about it, but almost two years ago we could have lost a figure in our sport like Kobe Bryant in basketball. It's just great still -- that he's still walking these grounds.

Q. Can he contend?

BILLY HORSCHEL: You never put it past him, and I don't want to give him a chip because obviously he doesn't need it. But it's tough. It's tough. I mean, I don't know -- obviously I know the way he would grind and practice and everything, but with the back and with the leg, I'm sure he's not able to do the old Tiger thing. Even before the leg when he was coming back from the back, there was a ball count and a time limit on how much he could practice.

Listen, when those juices get flowing and that adrenaline gets going and the focus sort of kicks in, strange things happen. We've all seen it where we feel like we're off our game, and next thing you know they get figure and we figure out how to hit the golf ball again and you find yourself in contention and winning tournaments when you don't feel like you ever had a chance.

Listen, Bernhard Langer has been contending, played here the last several years and played really well and sort of contended, so I don't put it past him. He hasn't lost any length, and I think that's a big key. The speed, it still looked like he had a lot of speed in his swing, so that's a big key. So I mean, it's -- it would be great to see him contend because I think that would be even more excitement and the atmosphere around this course would be buzzing a little bit more.

For him just to play, I'm happy with that. Obviously I know he's not.

Q. Have you ever thought about changing any part of your game to play this particular course?

BILLY HORSCHEL: I mean, we all think about some of the tee shots, if you hit draws, you give yourself a bigger room for -- margin for error. The cuts you just have to -- they're a little tighter and you have to be a little more precise and you've got to hit the shot the way you want. I don't think I've tried to change my game intentionally. For me, the thing I've learned finally over the last few years is I've focused a little bit too much on where I don't need to -- where not to miss it around these greens, and I haven't really been into the shot I'm trying to hit, and I wind up hitting a bad golf shot because of it.

So now the last couple years I finally have gotten comfortable with just trying to hit the golf shot that is called for, the shot I'm trying to hit. If I hit a bad shot and it ends up in a spot that it shouldn't be or ends up somewhere I don't want it, then I'll take it.