Billy Horschel Interview: Recapping the Open Championship grind + the state of the PGA Tour

Intro [Music] Smiley caufman for 61 wow I'm Smiley caufman and this is the Smiley Show welcome back to another episode of the Smiley Show uh I'm still locked away in my in-law's basement bar here in the Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania uh I am Charlie Hume he's of course Smiley Kaufman back at home and were ready to rip into the PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoffs fired up to be on location the next couple weeks with the show Smiley and we're going to kick that whole stretch off by having on a man who is currently 27th in the FedEx Cup standings and in the field this week at the Windam Championship uh currently the last odds I checked were he was tied for the second shortest odds so a guy that that we that the oddsmakers really love this week Billy horel uh so excited to get to that conversation and and you go in-depth Billy Ho but first as always we got to say a few words of thanks to our sponsor where SPF and I'm just going to open with a little bit of Show and Tell here smiley because it ties 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listen to it uh that's that's the way you can get some sunscreen uh so let's get right to it smiley you and Billy Ho and and just tell us a little bit about what you're most looking forward to in this interview with Billy well Billy's so thoughtful right like he when he speaks I listen I just think he's he's so you know just when a topic is is brought up or whether it's in a after after a round you know he he he gives every question thought and I really felt like that shine in this interview uh there wasn't you know a question I feel like he didn't just absolutely nail the answer to so uh you know we talk of course golf we talk a little West Ham if you're a West Ham or or a soccer fan Premier League we talk a little that uh we also talk about something that you and I have spoken a lot about which is the PGA Tour and just the way the model is now with the Signature Events the dist distribution in its points list so uh that was super interesting hearing Billy's uh take on it for a guy who's been on on the tour for quite some time but uh yeah overall just I think the highlights though is the Open Championship you know being there firsthand and getting to watch his round on Saturday and getting an opportunity to hear you know just about the entire week in totality I really felt like that was the highlight of the episode but uh I'm not going to be the one to tell you what my favorite part is why don't you listen for yourself and see what your favorite part was lots to get to you we will not make you wait any longer here is Smiley's conversation with Billy hell Billy Horschel joins the show all right like welcome you back to the Smiley Show very pumped to have Billy horel joining us here today Billy uh I know you're in North Carolina for the wind of Championship it's supposed to just absolutely rain the next couple days which is such a bummer because I hear the course is uh pretty firm and fast yeah this is a really fun course to play I know the scoring um you know was really low 18 20 on the par is usually the winning score but uh you have to hit the fairways uh if you miss the fairways the rough is nasty it's tough to control the ball into the green if if you missed the Fairway so yeah it's a little disapp pouring that it looks like we get pound with some rain here uh starting tomorrow afternoon uh and Thursday and Friday so we'll see hopefully it's not as bad as they say but uh it doesn't look good bummer right such a bummer it's such a good event I know it's one you've had a lot of success in as well so might may just be a little bit more of a shootout and ball in hand yeah it's going to be a shootout I mean listen they if we get three to five to possibly eight inches as a calling it's going to be a shootout and and yeah ball in hand I guess only good thing is we always get good lies and uh see some great golf shots well we're definitely going to be watching we're going to be tuning in to Billy hor making a bunch of birdies in North Carolina and for most of the people that are watching and listening they just saw you have just an incredible Open Championship we're going to go in depth into that here a little later in the episode but I think the best way to kind of get started off is actually a best of I have three best ofs that I'm gonna ask Favorite Florida Gators football game he's ever been to you that uh just kind of get us warmed up here going Billy and the first one is the best Florida football game that you've ever been to was when and where well it's going to be in games of the swamp unel I was I thought you might just say you know that time I went to Death Valley I thought there's a chance you might go there but no you know I haven't uh it's one thing I want to do I haven't been to any other stadium in the SEC so really um yeah I haven't I just haven't made a conservative effort to to get it done but uh I think uh here we're start doing next couple years my my kids are into it and especially my little boy he loves it so we're trying to go to some away games um I would say the loudest to swamp ever was was was 2006 um against South Carolina he had blocked the last minute field goal um I think it was Jarvis Moss blocked it um in the stadium went berserk I mean so loud and when they say you know you hear people say well the stadium shakes you know we hear oh yeah the stadium was shaking I can guarantee you the swamp was literally shaking I mean where we standing you could feel like this the swamp was shaking so that's that's one of the best ones um I would say the best game I probably went to um Auburn came to town this is 2019 they were fourth ranked in the in the in the country I can't remember if we were ranked or not but we absolutely destroyed them I think we were up 21 nothing real quick in in the game and that was an awesome game to be a part of yep I know uh Florida is probably in this zone right now where they they need a big year but man that schedule is just absolutely brutal it's a shame too that LSU and Florida you know we're so used to playing each other year in and year out and now with Oklahoma Texas and them splitting the divisions and going to just one big division we don't play you guys anymore I always looking forward to that game because it was always nuts every single year it was and you know it was it was different um with like the LSU rivaly vers um like a Georgia rivalry or or Florida State or even Tennessee I felt like we there's a little bit more respect between the LSU Tigers and the Florida Gators amongst the fans a little bit um obviously yeah we we could get a little spicy towards each other but it was just it was just it was always I felt like a little more respectful compared to like we absolutely hate Georgia we hate Tennessee and we hate Florida State and when I tell people like who do you you know who's the team that you guys hate the most uh you know they think we're going to say Georgia or Tennessee or LSU I'm like no we hate Florida State I mean the the two teams that we want to beat every year every year is Florida State and Georgia um and so so yeah we're going to miss that that LSU Ry we got a tough schedule no doubt about it I think it's the toughest schedule in the last decade Plus in college football um I think all the betting all the bookie Savage at four and a half wins I'm taking the over and I'm very confident in the over I'm very confident that I think we're going to be a 500 team if not better um I I think we're we're sort of getting a little disrespected right now and listen I I am biased I am a University of Florida you know Alum played golf there and everything but I'm a realist and I would tell you if I think we're going to have a bad year I'm not afraid to to admit if we're GNA suck or not but I think this year with what we got coming back and grah Merz and what he did last year at quarterback and and uh if the defense can play a little bit better which I think we got we brought in a lot better defensive coaches to help with that I think we're going to surprise some people so early in the year is big for us I think we play Miami the first week and I think we play Texas A&M I think again like in the week four and then we have a couple I can't remember who we play second and third week but those first those two games right there we can get W's that that gives us a lot of confidence you know it's August when we're we're all talking about the four-letter word which is hope you know it's it's the hope that you know maybe this is the year that you know that all the experts are wrong and that and that your team goes out and has a big year so now that we don't play you guys best of luck I'm I'm so used to just you know Ford and us had the best rivalry so uh look forward to seeing how Billy Napier and the team do so uh it's just right around the corner and uh two more have I got for you Billy uh best advice that you would give to Young dads Advice for young dads I know you mentioned your kids a minute ago talking about going to some games what would be some advice you'd give to a a young dad that's just getting started uh starting their family oh man you can give a ton of advice I think obviously just be really supportive of your kids supportive of what they want to do um but also let them figure things out let them you know if things get hard for them you know know they have to figure out how to um to deal with that how they're going to overcome that how they're going to uh get through that hard times I mean it's easy for us as adults to show sort of show them the way and and and and make things that are hard for them easier but I think that doesn't help them at later in life so I think for me it's being very supportive by kids and and letting them um figure out how to get through some hard times um but at the same time giving them support to to to be successful uh in whatever Endeavor they get into you know that kind of leads me right into my Tips for junior golfers last best of question it's and it's the advice that you would give to a junior golfer and that and that because you know you got to figure it out at some point in this game and and you never really figure it out whether you're an atime PJ tour like Billy horel or one time winner like myself or a junior golfer who's got all the information in the world and they watch these best players on TV and you know it's it's tough because there is more information out there now um from coaches and and what they see on TV what advice would you give a junior golfer coming up right now uh well there's two pieces of advice I would give for junior golfers I think the first one is that they have an excellent opportunity to network with individuals uh in the business World by playing in these Junior AMS that they play in agga by playing amam that they play in college and then if they decide to turn pro um playing in Pro AMS make sure that these people that you play with you create a relationship with because you never know at some point in life how they can influence your your path in in in this world whether it be sponsoring you some way as a professional golfer or if golf doesn't uh ultimately come to fruition you know reaching out to these people that you've had a relationship with they can open up a door to the New Path uh in life and that being the business World in some areas that you have an interest in so making sure that you treat people the right way making sure that you network and you create um these relationships of su successful business uh men and women that you come across is vital to being to having a you know giveing yourself the best opportunity to succeed in this world now when it comes to golf I would say work hard work hard work hard work hard you cannot work hard enough I don't care what anyone says if you think you're working hard I guarantee you there's a whole bunch of other there's more more players more there's other men other women that are working harder than you um I know it's a it's a uh tough thing to do and it takes a lot of sacrifice and it takes a lot of time um golf is probably the one sport compared to the other sport that takes more time than any others any others because of the amount of time you have to spend on each aspect of the game and everything but to to give yourself the best chance of succeeding make sure you're working as hard as you Poss possibly can and you're you know you're flipping over every stone possible you're not leaving any stone left unturn um because at the end of the day whether you make it or you don't make it you want to be able to look in the mirror um and say Hey listen I gave it everything that I possibly could and I'm I'm I can hold my head up high that uh you know I did everything I could to be successful whether it worked out or it didn't work out and the answer sometimes it's always in the dirt and really good hard work and and and Billy Work ethic and personal growth actually you know you turn you turn pro in in 09 you get your card in 10 through school and I Met You in 2015 kind of in the fall when I'm coming out so I've had a chance to kind of observe you and kind of your work ethic uh what what you do in the gym how hard you work on the golf course your preparation uh from from the My Lens at least is I think that you're one of the hardest workers on the tour I'm sure that's something you pride yourself on as well was that something that came natural to you even in junior golf and uh when you turned Pro or did you learn that once you got got out on tour it's like man I got to keep working hard to stay out here for you know you've been out there for however many years now I can't even do the math which is a great it's a great sign for somebody who's had a great career yeah I've always been a hard worker it was instilled in me um by my parents where we are we are blue collar to the te my parents uh my dad worked in structure for 50 years uh my mom you know I can never know exactly what she did but uh she did some buying and selling for companies and and um neither my parents had a college degree uh my mom actually went back when she was in the early 50s and got a degree but um yeah I the hard work portion has always been instilled in me I mean I got dropped off at the golf course uh during the summers at 7: a.m. and I got picked up you know 7 P.M you know it's just the way it was uh yeah so I was always at the golf course always worked hard um like I said I mean I my i' I've worked many of a construction jobs with my dad having to wake up 4:00 in the morning be leave the house at 5:00 be on the job site at 6 once Sun's up we're working from sun up to sun down you know did that uh several times that growing up for you know seven 10 plus days so working you know 12 14 15 16 hours uh a day at a job site with my dad is is nothing unusual nothing that um uh that I not I'm used to that and so I carried that into golf because I didn't want to go work construction if I'm going to spend 16 hours uh doing something I'd rather do it on the golf course instead of working at some job site you know being a grunt guy and so um so yeah I I've uh always had it I love working at the game I love it and I think when you love something you're really passionate about it you don't mind putting in the hours like you enjoy it and it's not always enjoyable but for the most part it is enjoyable because you're seeing you know the benefits of getting better you've seen you know the the success of the hard work come to fruition at some point in time down that road yeah I think if you asked Scotty shuffler Xander chaet about the money that they've made this year from how well they've played I think they would their answer would be I don't I don't really care like yeah it's nice but you know what what we look to as athletes is to put a plan in place go out work your tail at it and and to be able to execute it throughout the week and then at the end of the week it's a bonus it's like great this is you know this is the goal I set out and I was able to stick to my plan and work harder than everybody else and and that is the fun of being a professional athlete right it is it is and listen it in golf it doesn't always come you don't get as many successes as as you would say possibly failures in the game um but when you when you have those weeks and you have uh you know those opportunities it's it's exciting listen it is fun listen the British Open wasn't I mean let me the British Open the open let me make sure I get in trouble from UK fans you're matter you get away with it I get away with a little bit over there no but the Open Championship listen um you know obviously people have been you know congratulating me on a great week for for the last couple weeks and and and I've been discussing it with them and and uh and I've told him I said I was disappointed when I walked off the golf course because I didn't win but I played exactly the way I wanted yes I missed a little short putt at eight yes I didn't hit a good iron shot at 10 but I hit some really quality shots I just didn't make enough putts Xander played an unbelievable round the golf I I held my own I felt comfortable in the situation the situation never took uh you know took over me at all and I felt really good and I was even though I finished second even though I was disappointed I didn't win and you know it's something I've always wanted to do is is win a major you never know how many opportunities you're going to get you got to take advantage of the ones you do um I was still very happy with with my entire week and it sort of you know gives you that little kick of extra confidence it gives you that little kick to continue to work harder and you carry that little high for a little for a little while because you're like man I know I was so close I just want to get back in that Arena as quickly as I can it's a shame that it's nine months away back to the next major championship for you I I imagine that's for at your stage of the career you just want as many at bats at major championship as you can get especially you know coming off an Open Championship where you finish T2 and luckily for me Billy I had the best The 2024 Open Championship seat in the house on Saturday you know getting to watch the the group of the day like you know I I go out there and I get the Billy horal Justin Rose pairing and I go you know I'd actually gone out a little earlier I think I was with Sam Burns and and Jordan's group and I'm out there watching them uh the rain wasn't there yet and I'm watching these guys make birdies and I'm thinking to myself it's like God there's these guys right now in this wave are able to really play themselves into the golf tournament because of the projected forecast that we had and so I I finish their group I go get some Munch and I head to the range and while I'm heading to the range it's it's raining and it's it's raining pretty good so I go and watch yours and Justin Rose's warmup and I'm thinking of myself I was like man this is like I think this is the whest it's going to be all day and this is kind of brutal I mean what was your mindset when you got on the Range you're warming up and you have to just get so mentally prepared for just absolute Open Championship type weather yeah listen I think as any professional golfer we don't mind playing in rain and and the wind and the cold like it's fine but we want to warm up in good conditions we don't want to warm up in the rain like it's it's like if it's windy it's cold it's fine but when it's rainy it's just like gosh it's you don't I mean for me I don't know what other guys like but I don't I don't swing the same when when it's rainy like I'm a I'm just always like it's little half swings three quarter swings I'm not swinging full out because I want to control the golf ball and so you're not really just warming up in the rain is just never fun and so um I knew it was going to be a brutal day of golf um I knew uh going out was going to be really tough because that wind was coming from the southwest and I knew when we um when we actually never mind it was coming it was coming from the Northwest so I knew going out the wind was going to be down and it was going to be helping and we got to take advantage of some of the holes early because I knew when we turn it was supposed to pick up and get a little worse and you know we didn't know what to expect and so you know I went out and I I got off to a really good start you know I was Foreigner I think after seven holes or something like that you birie five which I felt like it was a it was probably the easiest pen they had all week there but still you and Justin both made twos there and that's when I was like okay this this group's about to get it going here yeah and so yeah it was it was it was tough and then when we turned around I think 10 wasn't that big of a deal because we hit we I hit driver Rosie hit 3-wood and the ball didn't go very far number 10 but I didn't like hit it full out and so I was like okay no big deal and I hit I hit I got to 11 and I was lucky enough on Tuesday I teed off really early on Tuesday I went off at 650 and I played the first nine holes and no win and when I got to the backside that North Wind came in so I had a really good nine holes of prepping for you know at least the wind and you know the lines and so I hit my t-shot 11 and I pushed it a little bit cut it a little bit more than I wanted and I thought no big deal you know I think it I thought it was in the Fairway and then when I got up there I was when I saw I was only three yards away from the gorse and I was like holy smokes and I saw J Rosies and he's hting two iron in the green and obviously I played it safe and just laid up with a five iron I was like Wow and then we get to number 13 and we hit that t- shot and I was like this is going to be this is going to be some fun golf coming in and um yeah listen it was it was one heck of a day and I think in those conditions when you play an Open championship and and I've been fortunate enough um to play in the Dunhill the last three or four years and play at least one round like that every every day or at least one round every year in that tournament in conditions like that so you understand after playing that what you can and can't do you know physically mentally and everything and and and know you just have to bunt the ball keep the ball in play not do anything stupid you got to rely on your short game make some putts because you know it's going to be a tough day you know you're going to be you know bogeys are are going to happen and you're just really trying to limit the damage you can and I did a really good job um the entire day I the only thing I was I was frustrated with when I walked off that Golf Course was that a bogot 18 after being in the middle of the Fairway um and so that was the only thing that I was disappointed with but it was still a great round the golf and some really tough tough conditions well I think that's an understatement it by by my just lens that day it was one of the more impressive rounds I've ever witnessed you know I I thought the front nine I know you said that there was an opportunity for some scoring there I still felt like it was was was hard just with the conditions I know the conditions were favorable but still you went out and just absolutely just you hit every single Fairway and every single green on the front side which is exactly what The Game Plan called for and up until that point in the week I mean you're leading you're leading the the field and Fairways hit Green's hit you're just absolutely destroying this golf course by putting the ball in the Fairway and avoiding the bunkers and then we turn around and go to that back nine and it was it it it was so opposite of the front of Fairways and greens it didn't matter I mean you were hitting Fairways but it greens though but it did but I mean you could barely even get to them I mean you're hitting three there was six par FES on the back nine right like I said so you had about 40 60 yards on a couple holes where you're trying to get up and down you get it up and down of course on both of them and I'm just sitting there watching I'm like if this is literally like I don't even know if Billy knows he's or Justin know they're playing in an open right now because it looks like they're just in their own world out chipping and putting and just enjoying just playing in the elements and that's what it looked like from my perspective yeah it was and listen I I mean it was you know you knew in obviously Championship but like it was it was enjoyable and I obviously when you're playing well in those conditions it makes it more enjoyable there's no doubt about it but I I don't know what it was obviously Ros is a really good friend fuch is a really good friend fuch CAD for me for a few years um but it was just one of those things where it just that day I was just really excited about playing golf and and I was excited you know when I made the turn to play in conditions like that and like I said I think because I've played in conditions like that a little bit more off than most guys and Rosie has too obviously being a European Tour player and everything he's playing these conditions quite a bit too you just sort of enjoy it and you understand that this the golf you're going to play is not pretty golf it's just about getting the ball in the Hole uh with the least amount of shots possible you're not going to hit pretty golf shots you're not gonna the swing's not going to feel pretty nothing's going to feel pretty but what's pretty is when you walk off the green you made a par on a really tough you know like on 15 you part 15 like that was really good part there oh my God wasn't it ever I mean I I was I was audibly laughing at at Rosie the entire day or at least the back n because every single shot he got over he got frustrated with the bill of his cap so then he kept on moving it he and then he would turn it around and you the entire day you're like I'm backward T I'm not dealing with it and Rosie kept on getting an noise like this raindrop and then and then it's his grips and it was just every single shot he had to back off to go get his grips and it was the whole back nine and and I I I don't know how many towels they went through but they went through a lot yeah I it had to be eight or nine it it was up there yeah I love foch and and and this and and he he's gonna give me some stick if he hears this but he doesn't and he's catty for me too so I know this he doesn't really do a good job of keeping the towels dry let's just say that so so he's got to always have a lot of towels I remember Catt for me you know I remember open up the bag one day he had like five towels in there and we knew it was going to R why do you five towels and like now I know I mean obviously I figured out why because you know he's catting for me he doesn't really do a good job keeping the towels dry like I think I went through two or three towels um but but yeah they were they were struggling a little bit over there but yeah it was funny it was funny the best thing about it I see Mark Blackburn left to the 14th green and he's got seven towels in his hand that he's about to hand them to the guys to uh to get some clean towels to I was like my goodness this is this is just comical we were walking down 11 Fairway and I saw foch talking to I don't know if it was a rules official or or one of the uh you know St Walkers with us and I'm like okay what's that all about and then we walk off number 12 T and the guy's like okay we got towels coming out and then on thir you know on 12 green there's a bag of towels that it comes out and and and fut is like this is just a disgrace that they didn't have any towels on number 10 with all the rain they should had towels out there in the little player at Villa tent out there with towels and so I just started laughing I was like f i that's funny it's just epic so I I I love the way you kind of approached the the round which is very blue collar which is you know what rain jacket I'm good I'm just going to get wet I'm going to be cold and I'm just going to deal with it but you kind of mention you know swinging in rain jackets you never swing like yourself and it's raining and it's cold and it's windy and you just bun it around and that's literally I'm watching you know when I stand 50 yards out in front these shots that your hit they just go like they just kind of bun it out there I'm like well at least he's keeping it in front of him because that's what you have to do on this back nine exactly and you know it wasn't raining hard enough for me to keep the jacket on all the time it was just one of those you know at times it got it hard it rained hard so I kept it on a few holes to swing but the other time it's just like man it just it's not I I'm just going to take the jacket off and I'm going to swing without it because I I'm just G to make better swings and the ball's going to go a little bit further without me having the rain jacket on cuz I put the rain jacket on it's going to go even shorter um with everything so yeah I just I was you know I got the idea because I've never seen a a a PJ Tour player do it a male golfer do it but I've got the idea because I watch enough golf um I'm a golf ftic so I watch a lot of golf and so I've seen these LPGA girls whether it was rainy or whether it's cold like they have this one jacket that they put on and when they go to hit they take it off and then they put another they put that jacket back on I'm likeing I'm thinking myself I'm going to do that today cuz that's that's what I want to do and I don't care and uh and people were like man you you didn't wear a jacket at all I said no I I was taking on and off so people thought some people thought I didn't wear a jacket at all I said no I had a jacket on I said it just was it was raining too hard for me not to you know not to have a jacket on in between shots because then I would have just got dren with it the shirt would just been soak and wet by you know within a hole and a half it was I mean it was a lot for me as an encourse commentator to keep up with the El SCP it was just there was a lot going on that day it was and I you finish out the day it was it was fun to watch and then Sunday of course you you know everything just kind of ended up to where you're now you're in the final group and you have a lead so tell me about your mindset going into Sunday Billy's mindset for final rounds because I felt like the most difficult thing about the week at trun was not really knowing what exactly a good score was going to be in your pocket you're exactly right and and that's the Open Championship for you depending on you know when you tee off in the conditions you know even par one under was a really good score and then other times if their conditions were fa like you could shoot five six on the par or or it could be the opposite way like playing Saturday you know two three over par even though that's you know you hate shooting that high it's still a possibility and that's not actually a bad score so um yeah I I felt good on Sunday um I woke up I was I felt relaxed I was you know just chatting Away With My Team Todd Anderson and and and mark Corton was there we had a buddy up from London George Jennings hanging out with us all week and so um yeah it was fun that morning I felt relaxed and comfortable and I wasn't nervous at all and usually sometimes when that happens when I get on the First Tee I start feeling the nerves and I didn't I didn't feel any nerves I felt comfortable I was I felt relaxed I was excited about you know what was going on that day and I think I think for me and I I talked about it uh you know in interviewed Saturday night I I'm different I want to address the situation I can't sort of not think about winning the Open Championship and I cannot just sort of you know plug it off to the side and I think um I remember yeah it's helpful for me and I remember Shane loow talking about I think Saturday night you know when he had the chance when he was leading the Open Championship at Port Rush he talked about you know envisioning himself winning the Open Championship and and and just you know what that would mean and feel like I think he talked about that with his team and you know I did something very similar to that and um a lot of times when I'm nervous or at least in that stage when you're playing really well and up near lead the reason I'm nervous is because obviously I could play well I could be I could play bad but I'm I'm nervous because if I play bad I'm worried that people who don't know me don't care about me you know they're going to say that uh on social media like oh you you know you suck whatever we know what the we know you know social media we all know social media you know what those uh you know trolls do on on social media and I'm like why am I if that's the reason I'm nervous and I shouldn't be nervous because they have no importance in my life and they couldn't even come close to doing what I do on the golf course so um at that point I was like man that's the only reason I'm nervous and I'm I'm not worried about playing bad I know I'm going to play well um and I know the people that care about me and love me they're going to still care about me and love me you know whether I win this or not they're not it's not going to change anything and so I was like man I'm only nervous because I'm worried that if don't play well people are going to you know say things about me that just aren't true and and and um and so that was it and and when I realized I was like yeah let's just go enjoy like there's you know you're going to play well so let's not worried about what someone says that has no importance in your life whatsoever and that's your personality too you're a guy that doesn't back back down from any challenge so that that's cool that you had the insight and just you know knowing all right what what's going to be my trigger if I do get nervous so that's really cool um that you just mentioned that and and so now that you Weather conditions at Royal Troon you're you're on the te you're in a good mindset you know for somebody again I was out on the course earlier that day and the wind was howling uh Sunday midm morning I'm thinking to myself okay I'm trying to Fig like I I'm I'm out here on the back nine if the golf course is gonna play like this I think I think the winner I think it's going to be right around 4 under that's in my head just being out there this is what I thought the number was going to be so how difficult was it for you showing up to the first T did you have a number in mind and when did you allow yourself to start looking at the leaderboard or was it just looking in your own group and seeing kind of where the lead was with how well Warren was playing on the front nine yeah I think um you know waking up that morning like you said it was pumping and when we got to the golf course it was still pumping but the forecast called for the wind to die down sort of late somewhere on the back side possibly um I didn't actually have a number at all in my head I I think when I'm winning a golf tournament or I'm leading a golf tournament um and for the most part when I've been leading I've never had a number I just I'm like hey if I go out there I play my golf game today if I play the way I will play like no one's going to catch me like I'm gonna you know it's it's going to be done so um but I would have said you know if you get by the front nine because it was pump and win then the back nine the wind was supposed to lay down and if it shifted to the way it was supposed to I think it was supposed to come from the southwest but it just came straight from the West it was yeah which was it wasn't in off the left like it was Saturday and it wasn't down off the left like it had been early in the week it was just straight west which was a little bit different but um we knew it wasn't going to be from a Northwest West uh Direction so there was possibility of some scores being had um I just thought you know maybe I'm like man if I go out there I shoot a couple on the I think it's it's probably going to be good like I got the two maybe but I thought three for sure get the seven um and then obviously I got off to a really good start uh you know Miss a birdie put at seven uh actually didn't hit a bad West shot at eight just misjudged the wind a little bit and missed a short putt there for par and then obviously Tristan played really good on that front nine he had a two- shot lead or at least a two- shot lead over me going to the backside uh he played aggressively from what I could hear in my ear like just hit driver I was like he pulled driver out on nine I'm like where is this guy hitting us he hit driver on one he hit driver on two hit driver on three it's 15 yard wide on nine yeah and so and he hits his drive and it's it's perfect but I was like gosh and I love that because he played his game he's like hey this is what I and I haven't obviously I didn't play with him the first three rounds but if that's what he did every day you know the first three days and he stuck with it like you got to give kudos to that guy cuz he didn't change his game plan for the moment he's like I'm playing the way I played all week and I'm going to go out the way I want to go out and so that was impressive and and I thought when he made birdie at n I'm like man he's playing really good and this is going to be a tough one because now I'm two back with nine holes to go obviously there's opportunities still to you know uh make up ground but it just didn't look like he was going to back down it looked like man he's going to go out there and shoot one of those rounds where you know like Xander did you know he was four in there after nine holes and I thought man he's going to shoot six or seven and this is going to be a tough one and obviously he he just made a mistake at number 12 and then nothing he didn't do anything coming in um but uh yeah and so I thought I I really thought thristan was a guy I had to worry about making the backside and then when I got to number 12 or 13 I saw a leaderboard I'm like dang Xander and then he birdied another one and then he birdied another one and then he birdied another one and I was like and so obviously playing 16 I think I was four back at the time or or five back whatever I was and obviously the last three holes and and Zander finished at uh nine or 10 on the par and we finished at seven or eight two shots back I think it was so yeah it was impressive around the golf that Xander played especially that backside I mean I I just watched the the coverage of the final round in the last couple days and and he didn't miss a shot I mean that was pretty impressive Golf and listen he's played that way all year and that was uh you know it was it wasn't like it was unexpected that was expected based off the way he's played all year yeah and if you go and finish T2 in a major you don't you don't want to feel like you know that that there was something that you could have done differently yeah you talked about a Mot at eight or an iron shot at 10 but I mean from from my vantage point I felt like it's that's kind of getting ticky tacky right like you're going to hit bad shots in a golf tournament and if you're going to lose you want to lose to a guy that goes out and just hits unreal shots is which is what he did just the execution level down the stretch um we've seen Xander and Scotty both do it this year and it's it's been pretty B damn impressive to watch but uh one of the things I did notice and I caught on to this while I was out there and I know you're a West Ham guy and I kept on here and like come on irons and I was like what are people saying but dude like you're you're kind of like the European of of of the Americans for us like you're you're like our our spy right like you're the guy that we send out there and you you kind of are the middle ground for us with these European fans or I guess the English uh soccer fans I should say yeah I've got a very good relationship with the UK fans they've uh they've been really great to me um you know it started back in 2019 uh when I played when I played Wentworth um I just enjoyed it over there a lot and and they embraced me and then obviously a couple years later I won the BMW PJ in 21 uh I I rocked the West Ham bag at the Open Championship in 21 for the first time and then that opened up an entire new like door for them and me um because I was supporting a club that's a very Blue Collar Club that's not one of the top clubs in in the country or in the Premier League um and um I and then I I say at the same time like I'm supporting West Ham but I'm supporting like the the sport that they founded you know they they founded soccer they they invented soccer and so or football and so they wanted so just embracing you know realizing hey here an American who loves football he supports West Ham like this is really cool and and they've been great not just the West Ham fans but also the supporters of other clubs and everything I get so many messages on on social media uh they're like H hey Billy we're really big fan of yours um only thing we don't like is that you're a West Ham fan you know we're a Spurs fan or a Blues fan or a Reds fan whatever it may be Liverpool fan I mean you know it's it's one of those things where um they've really embraced me and Tak them um and Tak me under the wing um I've been very appreciative of that and I've showed that to them and I think obviously that's where our relationship has has grown and and listen it's it's awesome I get questions all the time about the Ryder Cup and everything and and they're like hey do you have any English blood in yet is there any way you can be part of the European Rider Cup team um and they like we would love to have you but listen it's it's awesome I love it over there I love playing I love the culture I love um you know spending time over there um you know outside of golf I probably make three to five trips over to the UK to London a lot of times the to hang out with friends and and to go to some West Ham um games so yeah it's been really cool and like you said yeah they say come on your irons or up the Hammers are the two things they say and then to be serated with the song that we're uh synonymous with with the forever blowing bubbles uh that's another thing that's really cool and I mean listen they they sung that on number 12 on Saturday when I walked up to the green someone started singing it one started singing around the green and listen it I've had that happen many a time but right then and there at the Open Championship um it was special and I I literally got goosebumps I just I it's one of the you know coolest moments that I've had in my career man that's too cool and and I from doing some research How Billy became a West Ham supporter just on West Ham before uh talking with you Billy I guess Green Street Hooligans is kind of how you became acquainted with uh the West Ham's football club so now uh you know not that I get very much time to watch movies or anything but I got to do a little Recon and watch Green Street Hooligans because hey maybe I'm gonna be a West Ham guy listen it's a great movie I love it it's I'm not one of those guys that or those people that uh really care about the plot and the storylines and everything and I think it's a cool storyline um I just like watching an enjoyable movie and it's enjoyable movie to watch and Charlie hun was the first time that I've ever seen him as an actor and now I'm a massive Charlie hunam fan whatever movie he's in or anything like I love watching him as an actor um and then Elijah Wood was in it so listen I think it's a really cool movie like I said that's how I got into being a West Ham fan Washington 2006 in college and and I was absolutely hooked for the sole fact that the movies not even about football it's about the firms and supporters of the club and and and and the fighting aspect the hooliganism behind um the clubs like all I thought about man I I would love to be you know part of one of these that I think it was ICF or IFC I think it's was iccf um was what the firm was in West Ham um and I was like man I want to just be part of this firm I want to go you know just fight guys at four games and everything or anywhere else like that's I just want to be a hoan and fight people like I I I just thought listen I thought it was a cool thing but then you come to find out that it was a real thing back in in the day in the Premier League in the in the 70s 80s and early 90s and then people died you know in in these in these uh fights that these clubs uh these firms uh Sports of the clubs that they a real deal it was a real deal and it was a real um real thing so yeah like I said I I I love it I'm I'm I'm happy to be part of the West Ham family they've taken me in as their own and it's it's just been really cool okay who wins a trophy first Florida football or Trophy Predictions: Florida Gators vs. West Ham West Ham and let's say the FA Cup or uh well we were fortunate enough we were good enough to win a EUR Europa conference League two years ago which is another competition but it's like the lowest of the three competition it's a trop who wins a trophy next is it who the trophy next is it SEC Championship for Ford or is it does West Ham find a trophy before Ford I think the betting odds would probably say maybe gosh I I don't know you tell me I don't know what the betting odds would say I would say right now with with the the group of of players we've put together together over the last uh couple months in the summer transfer window for West Ham I would think that we have a a good chance over the next couple years of of winning a trophy whether it be fa Caribou I mean Premier League's tough to win but we can get oursel back into the Europa um well Le CL you know competition yeah you know you got you know you got Champions you got EUR you got Europa League and you got Europa conference so I would think West Ham right now with the group of squad we we put together I think the new manager um was fortunate enough to be around the team this past week down in Tampa when they were playing some of their preseason stuff I think uh his uh his style of play and everything's going to be really entertaining for us but I think I think West Ham um has the better chance right now just because you got new players coming in every couple years at Florida it's a college team you you get them for two three four years and they're gone you know so it's tougher to to predict but um I don't think Florida's too far behind I think whether this year is going to be obviously gr Merz is GNA I think have a great year but they've got a lot of great young talent and DJ lagaay and and some other players Wilson he looks good yeah um first got off a bus quarterback type of guy exactly and uh I think Billy Neer and his staff's putting together a really good recruiting class over this past year and the in the couple years to come so I mean it's head to-head but I'm going to say West Ham probably gets it done because there's more opportunities win a trophy than than Florida SEC is brutal too so what to see it is all right I'm G keep Mye on that one let's hopefully take hopefully like we're not talking about this in 20 years now that we NE have exactly all right a couple more topics I want to get through before we finish this interview up with you Billy this has been great and uh one of the uh FedEx Cup points system conversations I want to get into real real quick is the PGA Tour points distribution list I feel like you're in a position to be able to speak upon this mainly because you've been on tour a really long time and there's been a lot of change you know it used to be 500 points to the winner you know there there'd be some elevation in some big events but now the way the points distribution list is Catered towards the Signature Events and not towards the open events you're somebody that wasn't in the top 50 heading into this year is that correct yeah correct okay just making sure I I saw a look I was like okay did I miss something because I was like man I you really uh when you when you look at where you stand this year Billy you're 27th on the FedEx Cup so you have to be so proud of how well you've played to be in 27 considering the challenges there are with not being in all the Signature Events like you have been yeah I've had a really solid year um like you said I mean I'm 27th in the FedEx points list um I do have a win obviously it was the opposite field event I mean it gets you 300 points but uh you know it's 200 less than an open event and it's 400 less than a signature event so um yeah I've had a really solid year of golf I played really well uh I'm I did get in three Signature Events I played well in one of them um I played well in uh Memorial I think I finished top 15 somewhere around there and so uh that that was a a boost and points that way but yeah listen the way the points are now it's really tough to to really be high on that FedEx Cup points list um you have to play well um in open field events you got to win an open open Event um you have to be consistently playing well week in and week out take advantage of opportunities if you some Signature Events so so yeah I mean it's it's one of those things where we all knew what the model was going to be we all knew how it was going to turn out and I think um you know for me after that the year I had last year they come back this year and which I never doubted myself I knew I was going to play well this year um I just uh it was just nice to see you know coming off the worst year of my professional career on the PJ tour to come back and and have a really solid year and get back get back and and and continue to move forward to to where I to be uh back in the game of golf and do you like the system that that we have now do you think it's fair um I don't think it's unfair I think there's things we can do um I think I've said this for listen I've been on tour for 15 16 years now and so um before we even before piff and live was ever around um I've had many conversations with you know people on the PJ tour players on the PJ tour like Executives of the PJ tour that we needed to you know look at trying to make our tours stronger and um you know a couple opportunity a couple things I suggested was that I understand that this does take away opportunities but I felt like we have too many guys on the PJ tour that have a PJ tour card um I think if we were to reduce that uh number I think that makes us a stronger tour already just by taking away cards you make it a stronger tour already it gives that guys who come from the corn fairy T opportunities to get in open events more get in more open events instead of having to play so many opposite field events we could possibly get rid of the opposite field events um I think we could reduce our schedule a little bit to to make it even a little bit more um defined so we're not going up and and it just makes it uh you know a stronger product because we do have so many great sponsors out there on the PJ tour as you are well aware of and if there's you know less tournaments and you got you know a bigger pool of SP are fighting for um having a tournament which is going to be great for the players and it's going to be great for everyone involved so I just think that um you know we're doing things now that we're trying to make the tour better uh whether they're right or wrong we're trying things out which I felt like for the for a long time we really didn't do we were just very um you know status quo you know improving but not really making the necessary changes and and I will give give um you know this is I there's a lot of things that people aren't aware of that aren't in in the know and and unfortunate enough obviously I'm a PJ Tour player so I have conversations with the PJ tour exx quite a bit obviously I live in pija but they were well aware of what needed to be done on the PJ tour they knew they knew we needed to make changes to continue to progress they knew the model that we had you know probably was going to be successful and financially successful for the time being um and so they knew they needed to do something to to continue to have this success that we've had for 40 50 60 years on the PJ tour for another 25 50 plus years um but it's very tough when you have 20 you know 215 Plus members active members on the PJ tour to try and please everyone and you're trying to always you know look after everyone and try and make changes it's always tough to get some of those changes p and and bring in new ideas because you may have one fraction that agrees with it you may have one fraction that ultimately doesn't agree with it and you have people in the middle so it's very tough and I don't think people understand how difficult it is um to to to make some of those changes but they were aware of it they were trying to figure out ways to to do that um and obviously then piff and lip comes around and you have to you get forced to start doing this and the players start realizing you know what some of the PJ T execs have been trying to tell them and show them and so then it it opens up now the opportunities of the players being open to making changes and everything and listen we're still another two maybe three years away from ultimately seeing what the PJ tour looks like what the game of golf looks like so I think um I think for the most part it's benef it's been beneficial for everyone every professional player in the game of golf uh and what's happening it gives you the opportunity to continue to play well and and reap the the rewards financially and and and competitively wise and then I think you know we got to make sure that the biggest thing is that obviously the sponsor are are have been great and are going to be there but we need to make sure the fans are are are getting taken care of and everything they they add the energy they had the excitement we love playing in front of them you know how it was during Co how awful that was I mean it was the worst time in golf I've ever had as playing in front of no fans it sucked um but I love playing in front of them because they bring such a great energy and enthusiasm and and for me it energizes me playing in front of front of fans that are excited to be out there and watching golf so listen I think when this is all said and done everyone involved in the game of golf we're all going to come out winners which is which Optimal number of TOUR cards is what ultimately should happen and you you mentioned about 215 I mean that's it's a huge number and I feel like the players realize we got to get the best players playing together for for not only for TV the fans but you know it's just the best possible product do do do you feel like you know I say you mentioned two or three years but but do you feel like there's like a sweet spot number in mind of what that number could be is it a is it a hundred guys do you feel do you feel like other players have kind of a general idea of what that number may look like I think every every I think every player is different in their number listen the Signature Events have been great you know um in the sense of you're getting the top players together 7y man Fields I do believe though we need to have a few I think the fields need to be larger I think you need to bring more story lines I think the fans will get a little bored get a little disinterested if we're continue to have the same top players play in these Signature Events um yeah it's exciting to see them play but the best storylines in golf are always when there's a a David and a Goliath um because you have top players that you're expecting to win and you have these stories in in The Davids that you know oh man how cool would that be that guy's been grinding on tour for seven years and he's got opportunity to win the biggest event in his career and make the biggest check of his life and I mean how that changes his life and changes his trajectory in the game of golf is unbelievable and listen when you have Goliath versus Goliath it's awesome like you did at the US Open Championship with Rory and Bryson and Patrick hentley and everything and there are some story lines in there as well um and I'm not saying that's a bad thing at all but it's US Open it's going to be great because it's one of the four biggest events of of of golf and so you're always going to have interest in majors no matter what but I think for the PJ tour you need to have more David veral you need to have those opportunities for for those players and so I think um I would like to see as I was supportive of these Signature Events being a a smaller 70 man field at the time you know I was supportive of them but I also wanted to see more of U the David be involved and I do believe if we increase those those fields a little bit you get more of those great storylines that the fans are really interested in when you have those opportunities and it does come you know you know to it does work out perfectly for the entertainment aspect of golf one of my favorite events this this year Billy was probably you mentioned David versus golias but when I think of David's on tour now I just think of the young guys that just haven't gotten the opportunities that people have seen their name they want to see can they go up against these guys for me it was Davis Riley up against Scotty Sheffer and Colonial and Davis goes out and like dude I've won on every level too I just need opportunity and I thought that to me is like the David versus golias that I'm really interested in is like I want I want these young guys like Thor bson Luke Clanton these are the guys I wanted to see more opportunities to which I think PJ toru has been a great Avenue for for guys like Davis Thompson and louo Berg and you've seen uh how how this young generation's helped kind of create that David vers goli storyline that maybe in the past years it was a a 15-year veteran I think it's just changing a little bit because these you know the audience isn't quite familiar maybe with these younger players yeah you know when you're when you're coming out College obviously you know if you're a Golf Nut you may know them but if you're you know just a regular golf fan you're not aware of who they are or what they've done and so it takes a little bit of time for the golf fan to identify you know with these players a little bit but I think the tour has done a really good job you know early in my career you know the tour was bash because they weren't promoting enough of the young guys and and giving them enough opportunity to on TV like in the featured groups and everything and I think they've done a better job of that ESPN plus and these early round coverage and these featured groups have done great and sense of getting the players um that the two believe are you know have star power or going to be stars or or and giving them the exposure um it's been great for the fans to get to know him that way um yeah and I I I just think that it's exciting man I think back to like listen Nick Taylor Nick Taylor's been on tour for a little while now but I remember years ago Nick Taylor at Phoenix having the opportunity against Scotty schaer to go you know up against them and and and he can't finish second that was like the biggest that was his biggest payday in his career and listen I hate talking about the financials of it I I I despise it um honestly to tell you the truth um I I for many years now I've told the tour especially at the Tour Championship we need to tell TV to stop talking about how much money the FedEx man the person gets because I know you know because of how I growing up people don't want to know about the millions of dollars they make they don't want to be repeatedly told how much money they're playing for and everything it just it's sort of it it it makes him feel even smaller which is not what we want to do um but when you when you have stories like a Nick Taylor against Scotty Sheffer at Phoenix and he just loses in a playoff I think it was and then couple months later he goes and win Canada because everyone knew Nick Taylor at the waste management finishing second and then he goes to the Canadian open has an unbelievable weekend and makes an unbelievable eagle put against Tommy Fleetwood in the playoff like man that's a story right there that's really cool that people connect and now Nick Taylor's probably has his his recognition over the last 18 months has gone up because of what happened at Phoenix and in that uh that Arena and most likely going to be probably a president's cover for international team Nick Taylor uh has Billy's goal of making the Presidents Cup team had a great season and and Billy you're someone that you know had an incredible run through the through the playoffs winning the Tour Championship and and the FedEx Cup and kind of you're really the person that kind of altered the way the president cup and Ryder Cup teams are picked now because it used to be more guys exempt and then less picks now there's criticism on the other side it's like are too many guys getting picked so for you right now I mean where are you stand I feel like you have a tremendous opportunity with the season that you've had how well you've played maybe if you take all the numbers away from Signature Events and open events and and just put that the numbers in front you're probably right there do you you feel like heading into the presence cup which you've played in Quail Hollow uh do you feel like how much work you feel like needs to be done to make that team yeah you know it's really interesting um because I think I'm like 22 on the FedEx uh I mean the pred President's Cup points list and I um obviously that that takes a two-year window and so obviously not playing well in 23 hurt me but I felt like I you know I was shocked that because of the year I've had where I'm in the FedEx right now I thought it would be higher up um but I feel like if I if I play well these next four weeks you know I'm going to have to get a pick I'm not going to obviously qualify in in the top six but I feel like if I play well and I continue to do what I've done this year you know you know if I can get another win that that obviously uh you know increases my chances and everything but I think if you were to possibly look at it in the sense of like you said um I think you know maybe there is an opportunity for me to get picked but listen there's so many great guys it's tough to make a it's tough to make a United States team right now I mean I don't I don't think people understand how strong and how deep golf is on the United States side and and to be able to make a team in today's day and age um is really a challenge I mean it's the toughest it's ever been in in the history of these team competitions to to try to make one of these teams and so to be able to try and make my second president Cup team would be an unbelievable um you know goal of mine um accomplishment and then you know I'm in a really good position right now with you know a year out to to possibly make my first Rider Cup team which that's you know that's one of the three goals I still have left I don't I don't have accomplished you know making a rider Cup team winning a major and winning getting the 10 plus wins on the PJ tour those are the three goals that I have left I want to accomplish and so um yeah I'm in a really good position right now to to hopefully um if I continue to play well over the next year make up my first Rider Cup team which would be awesome at Beth Page I mean those fans are going to you know be so rocket and I think I think whether you're a United States team player or a European player I think we're you know some guys GNA be coming away with and I don't to say this lightly I'm not saying this you know Listen People deal with this you know you know for living and it's really um a tough thing but PTSD there's going to be some players walk away with a little PTSD just because of stuff that they hear if they don't play well and the way they're going to be crucified it's going to be bad but like I said I I say it in a light joking way but seriously there are people in this world that deal with that as a life-threatening um you know mental illness and so um I'm not trying to bring any light to it in that in that way I don't want to get hammered in you know in social media when we play this this podcast later trust me we we understand the severity of that and I think when it comes to the riter cup I want to see that Billy Hors show energy out there because we know we we know I want to see the veins coming out of Billy hell's neck after a maid pot because you I mean you're somebody that wears your emotions on their sleeve coming down the stretch which is why I've loved watching you uh you know on the PGA tour and all your eight wins so The Billy Horschel Family Foundation um as we go out Billy I just want to ask a little bit about the horel Family Foundation I know that's a a project with you and your family that you uh you spend a lot of time on and I was actually seeing a a video you put out this week from the Windam Championship putting green on Monday talking about the AP apga tour which you host so just tell us a little bit about that and how anybody get involved yeah so you know like anybody in life you want to you know give back and give people opportunity um that you may not have had or that you've had and so uh you know we've been involved in our local food bank for for 10 plus years feeding Northeast Florida we've had an ajga event I think it's our seventh or eighth year having ajj event um that's in early October down at Adena Country Club in in Okala just outside Gainesville uh We've uh been involved with a k94 for the last couple years such a great organization I talk about PTSD earlier you know this is what you know these people these these military men and women coming back from service um and dealing with PTSD you know having a friend and sense of a dog be there to help Comfort them when they're struggling like that's I mean um that is such an unbelievable thing to see uh got in dued to them about a decade ago through Tim TBO doing his Chariot events and and those guys being out at TPC Saw Grass and just seeing you know how much it meant to them to be able to have a service dog um with them to help them through their challenges uh after coming back serving this great country of ours um and then apj event um this is my fourth year holding it we're going to hold it down to concession Golf Club again last year was our first year down there first few years at TPC Saw Grass um just been unbelievable be a part of this I mean I love These Guys these guys are great personalities they're great people they have a a zest for life in the game of golf and um just trying to help them achieve their dream of of trying to make it professionally uh on the PJ tour and if it doesn't happen um introducing them to people in the business world you know we've been fortunate enough to have people like Cisco velocity Global BDO um zurich's been involved um there's other companies as well that have been involved the last few years introducing them to um people in the business world that they can create and Foster relationships with so that if golf doesn't work out they can reach out to these people who are wanting to help people and help these golfers obviously achieve the dream but if not help them you know start their next PATH so they can be successful in The Game of Life and so um yeah it's been great and then so last fall we started Our horal Family Foundation we were always going to start a family Foundation um but it was sort of needed to be at the right time when Britney my wife was willing um not willing but when she had time to to give more of her to it obviously as you know having kids it takes up a lot of time and so we're finally at a point in life where um she has a little bit more time not a lot but a little more time to to give to the foundation and it's her baby as I say um and so the really uh big thing behind our foundation is uh is the mental health and addiction obviously Britney's being eight years sober dealing with depression anxiety uh is a real thing and I think this world we've been um a little bit more accepting of mental health and addiction but there's still a long way to go and still a lot of people out there that are wanting help and need to get help so it's been great to start this Foundation um we have four in those four tiers everything I talked about we have a hope healing health and honor um so each of those little categories fall within those little tiers and so it's been uh great to to just see the the continued success of what we've been trying to do over the last decade contining to build and I put out a video on on Monday at Windom um to talk about my apj event October 20th through the 23rd just letting people know indivisuals or people out there in the corporate world who are looking to get into the game of golf who are looking to you know help people achieve their dream um that there's opportunities for sponsors still to be involved and um like I said it's a great couple days with these guys you get to play a great golf course and Concession Golf Club challenging so you may not want to play golf anymore after afterwards but uh but yeah and and just seeing that these guys are going to be you know these guys coming through the apj who are minorities these guys are going to be the one who can continue to grow the game of golf listen when it comes down to reality here I'm a white guy who plays a game of golf and I'm not going to connect with someone in in the inner cities um as well as someone who looks very similar to them who has a similar background similar authenticity you know I'm not going to be able to connect with them as much as someone else that looks like them and so um just giving these guys the opportunity the platform to continue to grow the game of golf because they want to see the game of golf grow they they want to you know get more minorities involved they want to see more minorities on the PJ tour and so it's it's been really cool to be a part of it like I said over the last four years and um we're going to continue to grow and um I said this two years ago I said two or three years ago I said the I think it's we're about 5 years away from having a couple more guys come to apj tour that going to make it to the P um apj tour make it to the PJ tour and so we're a couple years away but there is some really good players on apj tour right now uh Marcus bird is out on the corn fairy tour right now he's had a decent year um but he's going to finish strong and so hopefully here in the next couple years we don't just have one we have multiple guys who have come through the apj tour make it to the PJ tour so um everyone at the apj tour Ken and uh Ken Bentley and Keith hman and the entire staff are working tirelessly to try and um you know achieve achieve these goals that they started out you know back in the late 2000 2008 so well I even remember the Monday after Tory Pines this year or maybe it was the year before I'm not sure but I I saw you were doing some OnCourse commentary bil you coming after my job now what's going on here no Smiley you do a really good job of it and listen you guys there's there's people who have a knack at doing that and uh you and col post and and couple and and a lot of you guys already at the uh NBC and CBS do an unbelievable job and thank you man no I'm I'm not I'm not trying to come after that job that uh I don't I don't have the I don't have the vocabulary and the quick quick wit and the great way of describing things in a 5-sec window the way you and everyone else does if Tommy Rory was able to give me 30 seconds to describe something I'd be really good at it but because we only got about five seconds yeah that's not happening for me H it's definitely been a learning curve being size is not not necessarily easy for me either as I'm I'm one who likes to talk as well but uh continue continued sex success to you Billy but also if you want to go check out more check out the hamily foundation.org and the apga tour go check that out as well and Billy the next four weeks gonna be rooting you on and maybe the Open Championship as well was good preparation for the win of Championship if you're out there in that rain and the no rain jacket so who knows who would have thought of that thought of that yeah well best of luck Billy and hopefully uh we'll see if West Ham or or Florida Gators can win one of these trophies if if and if they can't maybe Billy can do it this week at the Windom awesome thanks Smiley all right buddy see you thanks see you well as you mentioned on the front end of this Smiley really fun conversation with Billy wide ranging definitely a thoughtful guy uh and cool to hear his Wyndham Championship Preview + One-and-Done picks Reflections on number yeah give him the CH I'll give him the chop I'll give him the chop give him the I mean I can't believe I'm a Totum supporter so it's hard to do but I I'll give you little little irons here for all for all the the West hamers out there blowing bubbles if you're not watching it's just basically you're putting your your fist on your opposite shoulder and it's just an a I think that's what it is so if you're a West Ham supporter you know already know what we're talking about and if you're not you can just skip right over this and join us as we head just do the chop do the chop do the chop uh and and and head right in with us as we make uh our one andone picks for the wind of championship this week uh we'll start with with smiley it's going to be very interesting weather week uh because it is dumping buckets the hurricane I think it's hurricane Debbie making her way up to East Coast in fact I'm supposed to be driving home in the middle of hurricane Debbie not not thrilled about that for myself or or my family um we do what we must so um I believe it is my I think you picked first last week for the Olympics so uh what more CWA you did take more Kawa yeah we I had a free I had a free free Square uh if I wanted to use Scotty Sheffer and chose not to so shame on me not neither of us burn the Scotty Sheffer free Square which is like what am I doing truly inexplicable stuff doing well okay so let's let's dive in then and then and all as we do kind of every week we give you few names we like for DFS lineups for maybe you want to go in a different direction with your one and done pick or you you've already burned the guy that we're using so I got three names that I like kind of up and down this this board I'll start first with Davis Thompson and I think it's also worth noting for these guys where they stand in the FedEx Cup list here because you know some guys are the goals are different some guys are trying to make it into the playoffs some guys are trying to you know secure their status as we head towards East Lake so Davis is currently 24th on that FedEx Cup point list courtesy of a of a win earlier this year at the John Deere uh and so with Davis he he finished tied for Ninth at the US Open at pinr number two earlier this year which is also a Donald Ross course Sedgefield is the same um so I love that sort of connection there and he had a positive Strokes gains putting at the US Open on Bermuda same or similar surface here at Sedgefield so that's something I like right away because as we've noted with Davis the the one thing when he struggles and plays poorly has a lot to do with him not putting it well so knowing that he's comfortable on the surface and and he's you know just a month or so ago puted well on the surface I really like that for him and then just talking about these conditions you know rainy wet we're probably going to have ball in hand for the majority of the weekend he played great at two venues where if I'm remembering correctly both rocket morgage and John Deere there was some degree of wet kind of Swampy conditions and ball in hand for some portion of the week um if he's if we're playing preferred lies and he's a striper of the golf ball he should do well too he should do well here as well um and then I'm just looking as his record last year narrowly missing the FedEx Cup playoffs was 73rd and those standings so you know a guy won this year on tour should feel a lot of motivation to kind of make a push for not only making it of course which he will but making that push for East Lake and really kind of locking up Signature Events uh for next season so Davis is a guy I like uh Nikolai hoard is another guy I like who's currently 80th in the FedEx Cup and so I kind of had a I was in between selecting a European player coming off the Olympics in between Nikolai and Victor Perez and Victor obviously had that thrilling finish he's going to have a ton of o you know playing that way in front of the French home crowd um and could very well play well this week but here's why I like Nikolai a little bit more is so he he was 6268 on the weekend at Olympics and for some bizarre reason we were really locked in last year to the Windom of course because like JT was trying to make the playoffs Adam Scott Shane Lowry and I just had this I just remembered Nikolai popping up on my TV a ton you know on the first couple days and heading into the weekend so I went back and checked this was like the last Tour event he played before flipping back to the to the European tour um you know heading into the Ryder Cup and he finished T14 here last year and he was positive 1.66 Strokes gained putting here so another guy that I like you know putting on a Bermuda surface he's comfortable with coming off playing really well on the weekend at the Olympics and a guy that obviously needs to make a move to get into the playoffs so I I'm liking Nikolai here a lot this weekend and then the the the third guy that I'll throw at you that's also kind of on the wrong side of the current cut line Ben Kohl's at 81 and this is maybe a bit of a flyer here but I was just looking at the the course profile here at Sedgefield and one of the things relative to other PGA Tour setups that it rewards a lot is driving accuracy and Ben is one of the most accurate drivers of the golf ball on the PGA tour uh and I'm looking at his his finish last year guy who finished first on the corn fairy tour standings and closed season an incredibly strong fashion and kind of matching it up here and saying maybe he gets a little bit of that into season juice drives it straight this week makes a push finishes in top 10 maybe that's enough to get him into the FedEx Cup playoffs and he backs up a great season last year on the corn fairy tour with a playoff season this year so those are my three guys that I really like but that I'm not choosing as my one orone pick who are your three smiley yeah that's uh really interesting how you kind of describe Ben Kohl's and you know he's a guy that's not going to be scared uh to go and make a bunch of birdies you know winning a bunch of times in the corn fairy tour and on a wet Golf Course where you got to drive it straight uh think that's a a really nice if you call it a long shot great I mean it's a longer shot on the odds board but a really nice piece and I'm gonna go start there on the back side of mine uh which is mine's Carson young uh a player that probably you can slide into lineups uh and the reason why it's because he drives it straight and I think this golf course like you said it's not going to be firm it's going to be very soft but so maybe that brings in a couple more guys to where maybe we're overanalyzing how important it is to hit it straight but if they get a ton of rain like we're expected to ball will be in hand so to have a clean golf ball being in the Fairway is even more important because if you hit it in the rough if it's not plugging you're going to have mud all over your golf ball so driving it in the Fairway with clean golf ball is a huge huge Advantage this week so Carson young uh also a really straight driver of the ball if he irons it good um you know the weeks that he looking at his stats when he has ironed it well uh he does seem to top 10 and catch a putter that's uh somewhat warm I think he's probably needs a career type putting week if he's going to win um but uh that's that's the first guy for me is Carson young uh also kind of from that area let Bermuda grass and can kind of play towards the sides of the fairways for angles but um next guy for me I'm gonna go with Andrew Novak um and before I get to Andrew just touching quickly on Carson Young on where he is in the FedEx Cup he's at 107 and Andrew Novak at 83rd so these guys are in a position where they need a big week but Andrew Novak I would probably say that he needs something around in that top 10 range you would think to get into the top 7even maybe a little better uh he's top 10 four times this year and it really has felt like it's it's been a better season than 83rd his top 10 though have all been seventh eighth ninth places so he's been very close in these open events to you know getting into the to the top part of the leaderboard but maybe not quite getting into the top five which if you look at the points list and the Open Fields you can tell there's a huge points differential in between finishing let's say fourth place versus finishing eighth so it's been very close for him this year um he's to me you know he's also from from the region um and I just feel like he's played better this year than than where he stands on the FedEx Cup so Andrew Novak uh let's see what he does this week uh lastly if you for me if you if you don't have sewu Kim like on your card uh you need to think about it because this guy's like he is the Windham Championship he won in 16 he's at three top fives lost in a playoff another year uh since that win in 16 so the winam championship you got to start with W uh with sewu Kim and I probably would be picking him if it weren't for another guy that uh you know just kind of recently talked to well there you go that's a good tease for who your pick might be uh but a good collection of guys there and I I agree on all of them I feel like uh I have the sensation with both Carson Carson young and Andrew Novak where they just you know you go back and you look at their finishes and maybe they don't finish as strong on the weekends but they just seem to be in and around it this entire season and this feels like one of those events where you know kind of to your point if if they have to get aggressive and make a ton of birdies this week I mean it it could be a highrisk strategy where there could be a ton of upside and ton of downside nothing L and and and what you know I don't think you could script a better set of conditions for that type of mentality than soft ball in hand like just throwing darts at the pin and and if they if it sticks up there then great you're you're putting for birdie a lot and hopefully you're rocketing up the leaderboard so love both of those in addition to SEI wo um which leads me to my pick for the week and we've said this a couple times like sometimes it's just it's just an obvious pick and it's the one that's right there at the top of the you know the the the odds board at the right at the top of the data golf predictive chart um I've not used him yet in one of done this year so this is where I'm going to use him Sun JM who comes in ninth in the FedEx Cup uh his last four starts T3 T12 T4 and t7 and really if you kind of go back and for most of the golf he's played this entire year other than miscuts at the US Open and the PGA he's played fantastic the entire way uh this is where I'm going to contradict myself a little bit because I just talked to you about how I love Davis Thompson Pinehurst nless ber Bermuda greens and he had a miscut there but I guess you know we we very recently detailed a a 66 that was shot on a Donald Ross course in softer wet conditions you know and and and this is the time of this is the time of the year for scoring so I'm just GNA say here is that while sunj did obviously did not play great at Pinehurst number two like this course being a lot softer after all this rain I think maybe helps him out a little bit and so here I'm just counting on him hitting a lot of Fairways having ball in hand throwing some darts and making a ton of birdies and just continuing the Run of form he's been on of late and and so I'm I'm rolling with sun JM this week uh at the wend you know part of me thinks that because of the conditions it it actually would make uh a better chance for maybe a long shot to win this week but when I just look at just kind of how guys typically uh their state of mind and and and actually winning the golf tournament I think you often see that guys that have nothing to lose uh meaning like their their their job is secure they don't have anything to worry about when it comes to the playoffs that's where I kind of settle in on Billy horel I know we just talked to him uh but he's in a position right now that he can number one if he goes out and wins you know that that helps him uh to potentially make the President's Cup team he's already inside the top 30 sitting at 27 uh he's had six top 11 since 2016 at the Windom so it's a the golf course he obviously likes and feels comfortable with and I feel like it's you know if we get down to Sunday and it's a bunch leaderboard with a lot of guys I think when other guys are worried about you know getting into the top 70 uh let's say a couple of those guys are uh in the mix give me the guy that has nothing to lose and that his job is secure and that really it's just anything that he does just kind of bonus so give me Billy horel for those reasons and uh honestly I just kind of want the Smiley Show bump too much to ask it's never too much to ask we got to keep the Smiley Show bump going would be great if we doubled up on the one and done heer with a smiley show bump so I mean that's best case scenario but I mean I love the pick for a lot of reasons I mean you just heard Billy talk about the type of goals he has which are lofty ones you he wants to win 10 times on tour he wants to win a major he wants to make a Ridder Cup team like this is a guy that talked about how tough it was to come off playing his his Worst season on tour and he's gone out and gotten after the season and made the most of his three sponsor exemptions into Signature Events despite the fact that he was not in Signature Events um and it looks like he very comfortably should be in those events this year if he has a strong sort of finish to the season locked up yeah so I I I think that um this is a guy that you know should be motivated especially on the heels of playing phenomenally well at a very tough test in the Open Championship uh to come out and score well this week and finish strong so I like it I like it for the show bump and I like it for you know just keeping the one done heater rolling so it's good stuff absolutely the only the only thing I'll say to uh the the viewers and uh and the listeners out there we did a an awesome interview with Michael nef uh with gears and never really got an opportunity to dive into a little bit uh with Billy uh talking about some of the changes he made and figured out last year when it came to his ly angles of his clubs actually flattening out his irons two degrees couldn't cut a wedge realize uh that he need need to make a change just going and using the gears program so we we did an interview last year actually talked about Rory uh Billy horel and cam Smith All in 3D so if you're into that sort of stuff give that a give that a look um as I really think that's pretty interesting of how Billy was able to kind of turn uh all of his hard work into actually like oh okay it was just it was maybe not the Indian it was actually the arrows type of situation it it's a great shout uh I'll say this for the cliffnotes version of Billy section if you're hting four iron better than your nineiron first of all go to that video and check that out and second of all take it to your local PGA Pro and maybe take a look at those Li angles for for some of those short irons uh that was that was fascinating to hear just how they went about you know discovering that so really cool interview with Michael on Billy and uh and definitely worth checking out so I believe that is all we have for today's show Smiley unless you have any sort of final thoughts of the people I think really what we got to tea up is the fact that you and I are going to be together in person for our next go next three weeks we're going to have shows together pump for this really excited uh I think you know we're talking about uh you know going to Memphis and then uh I'm really excited about Denver everybody just says that place is just incredible Castle Pines and then uh I've I've never been to East Lake in my life so seeing a new golf course uh the Andrew Green uh restoration from a Donald Donald Ross original I'm really excited to see that Golf Course from my understanding and people that have been around it they've said the golf course is much harder we'll have to see uh I bet there's going to be a little bit more firmness to it but I'm I'm interested to see why they said that it might be four or five shots harder so really interested to see uh what that Golf Course looks like and of course doing uh our our our typical preview and recap pause that that I think most of most of you have become accustomed to listening to and we're excited to uh bring that content to you over the playoffs yeah make sure you are subscribed to the YouTube uh the YouTube channel if you are not already and following the social accounts we're going to have a lot of cool content coming there as we're on site at all three FedEx Cup playoff events so looking forward to that uh if you're on the east coast in the path to Hurricane stay safe stay dry uh and yeah we'll look forward to talking to you next live from TBC southw in Memphis I appreciate you watching listening and we'll talk to you soon you know I listen to this Outro podcast is really cool all of our Lo fans and subscribers but make sure you like And subscribe it's cool to see what what you guys are doing I know golf fans appreciate it but we we do too so please keep it up for all the good people of YouTube like And subscribe you guys have some good takes so I'm happy to come on and and shoot the