SAN ANTONIO — The first thing Billy Horschel did when he heard of Tiger Woods’s rollover accident last week in Florida was reach for his phone and text his longtime friend.
“Much love,” the still-unreturned text read, in part. “Much care.”
The first thing Chris Kirk remembered when he saw Woods’s Tuesday social media post about stepping away from the game was his own 2019 admission of alcohol addiction and depression.
“I didn’t want to do it at first. I really fought it in my mind, but I decided I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing and move forward,” said Kirk, who took several months away from the PGA Tour before returning.
Speaking Wednesday at the TPC San Antonio practice range in advance of the Valero Texas Open, both players with addiction experience said they only want the best for Woods.
“Tiger is a great friend and was there for me 10, 15 years ago. I want to be there for him. Anyone who has been around him knows he isn’t living pain-free,” said Horschel, whose wife Brittany confronted alcohol abuse in 2016.
“I want the best for him as an individual, but like a lot us out here, he doesn’t share a lot of what he is going through, to me or [friend] Justin Thomas or others. I don’t know what he’s dealing with if it’s addiction issues or if he’s just stepping away to get his medicine more regulated and getting some different combinations which can help him.”
Kirk said he doesn’t consider himself a close friend to Woods, but has enough experience from his own addiction battle to see Woods’s announcement Tuesday as hopefully a good sign.
“I don’t know what the intentions are,” Kirk said. “Is he doing this because that’s what he thinks people expect him to do or that’s something to get him the help he needs?”
“It doesn’t matter if people around you think you need help, it won’t come out as a solution unless you want to do it,” Horschel added. “I know the first step to be sober is to admit the issue.”
Woods has had multiple vehicle incidents dating to 2009, including an arrest in 2017 in Florida where he was found passed out his car and charged with DUI (later reduced to reckless driving), having been found with prescription drugs in his system. The police report from last Friday reported two hydrocodone pills in Woods’s pocket.
“’The man has had like 50 surgeries related to his back and ankle and leg and knee. Just being around him at TGL or talking to him at events, you know there is pain,” Horschel said.
“Seeing how open Chris Kirk has been about his past issues or Anthony Kim, you know there are people around here dealing with a lot of things. I know several caddies who have gotten help with alcohol issues.”
Horschel credits his wife having checked into an alcohol rehab clinic as the critical first step for saving her life and their marriage. He is hoping for a similar positive outcome for his longtime friend.
“She understood the level it took to change her life,” Horschel said. “I want Tiger to be living a great life. It has nothing to do with golf, but to be happy and healthy, that’s all I care about.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as PGA Tour Pros Voice Support for Tiger Woods’s Decision to Seek Help.
