Billy Horschel has expressed surprise at the extent to which golf fans have become jaded by the fractures at the top of the men’s game.
The American is preparing for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship this week, his first start since he beat Rory McIlroy in a playoff in last month’s BMW PGA Championship.
The DP World Tour event arguably has more talking points than usual this week, thanks to the inclusion of 14 LIV Golfers in the field.
As well as that, the tournament, which sees each professional play alongside an amateur, it also includes PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund that finances LIV Golf, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, paired together, with Horschel and Dean Burmester alongside them.
That is the latest twist in a long-running saga to bring the top of the men’s game back together since the 6 June 2023 announcement that the DP World Tour, PGA Tour and PIF had opened negotiations on a way forward.
Before that uneasy truce, Horschel had been outspoken about the fate of players who opted to join LIV Golf, saying at the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open: “Those guys made their bed.”
Horschel was reminded of his comment while speaking to reporters before this week’s event and responded: “Well, if I'm correct on what I said, they did make their bed and they made a decision that rewarded them financially, and their families.
“They went against our rules that we have on the PGA Tour, and they went against the rules that are set on the DP World Tour."
He added: “But I also felt the same time as I said, I have no issue with LIV. I have no issues with the Saudis. I think competition is a great forum to better a person, better a company, to improve, and I've always said the PGA Tour would - I would always bet on the PGA Tour to win out.
“Whether I said this at the Scottish or not, I did believe at the time that there would be a coming together. I thought it would be five years, not 18 months.”
Even though there are efforts to bring the game together sooner than Horschel expected, he admitted that the fractures had been damaging for the fans in particular.
He explained: “I do believe now looking at the game of golf, looking at - which I could never imagine at that point sitting there and speaking how I spoke - that the divide that we've created in the game of golf would create such a disinterest in the fans. And that's really who has sort of been hurt by all this.”
Horschel then emphasized that the needs of the fans must be prioritized. “I feel like as all golf fans, as much as I play golf for a living; I'm a golf fan. I'm a golf fanatic,” he said.
“I watch golf all the time. I do believe some coming together and some semblance of healing to the game and showing what the game is going to be going forward is what we need for everyone involved, but especially for the fans. Because without the fans, without the sponsors, we are playing golf just because we play golf. We're not playing golf for money.”
Horschel’s comments echo those of LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau, who, back in April, said a deal needed to be done sooner rather than later because “too many people are losing interest."
