DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 12, 2024

Billy Horschel

Jumeirah Golf Estates, Earth Course

Quick Quotes

Q. It's great to see you here. Just give us an idea of your feelings as you arrive here for the finale of the DP World Tour.

BILLY HORSCHEL: I'm excited to be here. Listen, it's their Tour Championship. It's their last event of the year. It means a lot to everyone who gets here. It's very similar to our TOUR Championship on the PGA TOUR.

So you know, when I won Wentworth this, wasn't on my schedule originally and then when I won, I felt like I needed to make sure I show up and attend a special event, and that's what I'm doing. I'm looking forward to hopefully a great week. I haven't done a lot of practise over the last month. Greens are a little rusty but we'll just see what happens.

Q. You say it's "their" championship but you could easily say it's "our" championship, couldn't you?

BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, I do use the words "we" and "theirs," and sometimes I put myself in that world of the member of the DP World Tour.

But listen, I support this tour. I love this tour. I think the world of this tour. But at the same time, I don't support this tour 20-plus events out of the year.

Obviously the PGA TOUR is where I play mostly but I want to make sure that these guys understand how special this tour is, how special I think it is, and then what I think of them as golfers. I think they are really great players out here.

I think it's honestly -- and quality and talent-wise, I think it's the second-best tour in the world, and you see it on a regular basis. And the more I come over here the more, I'm impressed by the way these guys play on TV, I always have but when you see it in person you get a better perspective of the players.

Q. Are you surprised that more of your peers don't follow your path and your example in that respect?

BILLY HORSCHEL: Yes and no. I've talked about this quite a bit. Listen, I have a different view of the game of golf and the world of golf. I grew up watching The European Tour. I grew up envisioning coming over here and playing these events, and even as I turned pro early in my career I still watched a ton of it and envisioned coming over and playing.

So you know, like I said, my college coach said if you want to be a world-class player, global player, you've got to travel around the world ask play well and you've got to win events to consider yourself a world-class player. I don't fault the guys in America. That's the decision they made but listen, when the Tour started doing financially a lot better than the DP World, or European Tour at the time, 20 years ago, it changed the ways that guys don't have to travel and guys are very much American centric.

Like I said, I don't fault them for it but I think they would have have -- I think when you think about the game of golf, giving back and traveling around the world where people can watch and you see you take pictures with you, sign autographs, that's one way to sort of give back to the game of golf.

And I think they would grow as people, too, by traveling more around the world and experiencing more culture and experiencing different languages and everything.

Listen, I always encourage guys to travel and always encourage guys to come over and play even if it's a couple events out of the year. At the end of the day, it's their decision and they do what's best for them and that's their choice. You can't fault them for the decision they make.

Q. Has it made you a better golfer?

BILLY HORSCHEL: Oh, by far a better golfer. I mean, I think I've improved my game in conditions like playing in The Open Championship and going and playing Dunhill and doing that more often. I've become a lot better of a person, I guarantee you that, by having to understand different cultures. Try to communicate with people that may not speak English as well or I may not speak their language as well, so you try to communicate that way.

Listen, it's made me a better person all around, as well as in my golf game. That's why I said I think it's better for people to travel because you go grow as a person and it does help your golf game but I think the biggest thing is you do grow as a person.

Q. When you look at your year, the two real standout highlights happened overseas from your point of view with the United Kingdom with a brilliant performance at The Open and that victory at Wentworth?

BILLY HORSCHEL: I am still waiting for my U.K. residency to come along. I guess I've got to win one more or two more events over there, no, I'm joking.

I love playing in the U.K. I've talked about it quite a bit. I love the lifestyle over there and I love the people. To play well at the The Open championship and to come up just short to Xander who played a beautiful final round and to win the BMW PGA at Wentworth for the second time, against Rory, and everyone knows what I think of Rory and where he stands in the game of golf.

This year, those are the two real highlights of my year that I have had, and it doesn't hurt that it happened in the U.K. either.

Q. There's a little flat waiting for you around the corner of the London stadium?

BILLY HORSCHEL: I don't know if I'm going to go east London. I'll probably go more Surrey. Listen, I love east London a lot but the golf courses are in Surrey, we all know that. Travel-wise, makes it a little bit easier.

Listen, I lost West Ham and I love the fans and they show back to me as well. And so yeah, I love being anywhere in London; it's never a bad place to be.