William John Horschel (born December 7, 1986) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour.
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, where he played for coach Buddy Alexander's Florida Gators men's golf team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 2005 to 2009. He was a four-time All-American, including three first-team honors, and the Southeastern Conference (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 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, shooting a two-day score of 138 (60-78, −5) at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota. 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. 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 gained a 2010 PGA Tour card through qualifying school. 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, 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 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 in his 61st PGA Tour start. Horschel made six consecutive birdies in the fourth round and won by one stroke over D. A. Points. The win moved Horschel to third in the FedEx Cup 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 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, The Players Championship, 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 Players Championship, the tournament he played in after his win.
In the 2013 U.S. Open, Horschel held the joint lead with Phil Mickelson, 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. 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 BMW Championship and moved to 23rd in the world rankings. The next week, he won The Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club and with it the FedEx Cup. 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 in a playoff over Jason Day.
In April 2018, Horschel won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Scott Piercy.
In March 2021, Horschel won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play defeating Scottie Scheffler 2 & 1 in the final. This was his first World Golf Championship victory. In September later that year, he won the BMW PGA Championship by shooting a final-round 65. It was his second European Tour victory.
In June 2022, Horschel won Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, his seventh PGA Tour title. In September 2022, Horschel was selected for the U.S. team in the 2022 Presidents Cup; he won one and lost two of the three matches he played.
In April 2024, he came from behind to win the Corales Puntacana Championship. In September 2024, Horschel became the first American golfer to win the BMW PGA Championship twice when he made an eagle putt to beat Rory McIlroy in a playoff.
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.
Professional wins (11) PGA Tour wins (8) LegendWorld Golf Championships (1) FedEx Cup playoff events (2) Other PGA Tour (5) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Apr 28, 2013Zurich Classic of New Orleans67-71-66-64=268−201 stroke D. A. Points2Sep 7, 2014BMW Championship68-66-63-69=266−142 strokes Bubba Watson3Sep 14, 2014Tour Championship66-66-69-68=269−113 strokes Jim Furyk, Rory McIlroy4May 21, 2017AT&T Byron Nelson68-65-66-69=268−12Playoff Jason Day5Apr 29, 2018Zurich Classic of New Orleans (2)(with Scott Piercy)65-73-61-67=266−221 stroke Jason Dufner and Pat Perez6Mar 28, 2021WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play2 and 1 Scottie Scheffler7Jun 5, 2022Memorial Tournament70-68-65-72=275−134 strokes Aaron Wise8Apr 21, 2024Corales Puntacana Championship67-69-66-63=265−232 strokes Wesley Bryan
PGA Tour playoff record (1–1) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result12016RSM Classic Blayne Barber, Mackenzie Hughes, Henrik Norlander, Camilo VillegasHughes won with par on third extra holeHorschel eliminated by par on first hole22017AT&T Byron Nelson Jason DayWon with par on first extra hole
European Tour wins (3) LegendWorld Golf Championships (1) Flagship events (1) Rolex Series (2) Other European Tour (0) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Mar 28, 2021WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play2 and 1 Scottie Scheffler2Sep 12, 2021BMW PGA Championship70-65-69-65=269−191 stroke Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Laurie Canter, Jamie Donaldson3Sep 22, 2024BMW PGA Championship (2)67-69-65-67=268−20Playoff Thriston Lawrence, Rory McIlroy
European Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult12024BMW PGA Championship Thriston Lawrence, Rory McIlroyWon with eagle on second extra holeLawrence eliminated by birdie on first hole
eGolf Professional Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Aug 8, 2009Columbia Championship68-65-66-69=267−173 strokes Dane Burkhart
Results in major championships Results not in chronological order in 2020. Tournament2006200720082009Masters TournamentU.S. OpenCUTThe Open ChampionshipPGA Championship Tournament201020112012201320142015201620172018Masters TournamentT37CUTT17CUTU.S. OpenT4T23T25T32CUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTCUTT30CUTCUTPGA ChampionshipCUTT58T25T79T48T35 Tournament20192020202120222023202420252026Masters TournamentT56T38T504352CUTPGA ChampionshipT23T43T2368CUTT8CUTU.S. OpenT32T38CUTCUTT43T41CUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTNTT53T21CUTT2CUT
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 10 7PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 4 13 10U.S. Open 0 0 0 1 1 3 13 8The Open Championship 0 1 0 1 1 2 11 4Totals 0 1 0 2 3 10 47 29 Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (twice) Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)
Results in The Players Championship Tournament2013201420152016201720182019The Players ChampionshipCUTT26T13T28CUTT37T26 Tournament202020212022202320242025The Players ChampionshipCT58WDCUTCUTT42 CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place WD = withdrew C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic
World Golf Championships Wins (1) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up2021WGC-Dell Technologies Match Playn/a2 and 1 Scottie Scheffler
Results timeline Results not in chronological order before 2015. Tournament 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020202120222023ChampionshipT50T4641T45T9T2Match PlayR32T17T38T24NT11R16R16InvitationalT44T33T74T9T25T17ChampionsT35T73T11T24NT1NT1NT1 1Canceled due to COVID-19 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. The Champions was discontinued from 2023.
U.S. national team appearances Amateur Palmer Cup: 2007 (winners), 2008 Walker Cup: 2007 (winners) Eisenhower Trophy: 2008 Professional Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 2013 Presidents Cup: 2022 (winners)
See also
2009 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 2010 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 2012 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates List of Florida Gators men's golfers on the PGA Tour List of University of Florida alumni
Notes
References
External links
Horschel's Twitter page