WGC DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY

March 23, 2023

Billy Horschel

Austin Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. You just defeated Rickie Fowler. What's the dynamic like when you're playing someone you've known since your Walker Cup days in 2007?

BILLY HORSCHEL: It's tough. I've got a group of three guys I get along with very well, I like very much, and it's sort of tough to play them. But listen, we've got to be at Match Play. Rickie and I have known each other for so long; it's not shocking when you see us congratulating each other, having fun out there. At the end of the day one of us had to win and one of us had to lose.

Q. Tomorrow a gift from the match play gods, yourself against Jon Rahm. What are you looking forward to in that match?

BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, to have a chance to win that match and still control my own destiny in the pool play. A little disappointed yesterday to halve that match with Keith. Missed some short ones, but you've got to tip your cap to Keith; he made some big putts coming in, got some good shots up-and-down.

Happy to be able to control my destiny tomorrow, and that was the goal today was to win the match and be able to do that.

Q. Always tough to beat a good friend, but you were 3-up, he closed it to within one, big turn there at 15 and you close him there at 16.

BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, it was one of those matches that was tight all day. I won obviously 10 and 11 and looking like I may -- not cruise, but sort of in similar position yesterday with Keith, and he made two good putts to beat me on those holes to get it back to 1-down, and I was sort of walking up 15, like I'm in the same position as yesterday with Keith.

He just didn't hit that bad of a drive on 15, obviously chunked that wedge shot out of the bunker, which is tough from that close range. Rickie is a great friend. It's nice to see him playing well again, nice to see him seeing the results and all the hard work paying off. He's a big name in this game of golf, and we need Rickie to play well, and it's nice to see Rickie back and getting closer to the Rickie that all of us golf fans want to see.

Q. You're in control in your group; a win and a tie. You've got Jon Rahm tomorrow. Rahm won today, and I asked him about his match with you, and he he said it's going to be fun. There's going to be a lot of electricity out there, and he wasn't talking about the weather, he was talking about the emotions both of you bring to the golf course.

BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, I think more so him than me. Yes, obviously I can be a little fiery, but yeah, I mean, it's going to be a great match. He's been playing great for a long time now. There's a reason why he was No. 1 in the world not too long ago. He's No. 2, he's a hell of a player. We know what Jon has done in this game of golf.

I've got to show up. I've got to play really good golf to have a chance to beat him, and we'll see what happens tomorrow, but like I said, I'm just happy I'm able to control my own destiny, and if I can get a win tomorrow, then it looks like I'll be moving on.