Billy Horschel Gets Realigned, Stays in Hawaii for Sony Open
HONOLULU — “I know I wasn’t supposed to be here.”
That was Billy Horschel’s response when he saw me standing on the back of the 18th green as he was finishing his Wednesday pro-am round.
This is the same Horschel that said last week he was not coming to the Sony Open because his swing was not ready for primetime, and he didn’t see a reason to swing poorly two weeks in a row.
Instead, he planned to go home and work with swing coach Todd Anderson on the issues he has had most of his career—loading on back swing, more specifically, loading on his right glute.
So, on Saturday, Horschel, who was on his way to a T30 finish at the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, decided after manufacturing a 9-under 64 in Saturday’s third round that Sony was not in the cards and told me that he was going to skip the event.
“Well, I'm hitting it like crap still,” Horschel said after his Saturday round that included seven birdies and a finishing eagle. “But I've realized the last two days that it ain't gonna get any better swing-wise. So, I've got to figure out how to some way to get around the golf course.”
Horschel then went to the physio guys to get worked on and they discovered his pelvis was out of alignment, which affected how he was swinging the club.
So, after some work to get him back in alignment, Horschel felt he could make the swing he had been making at home working with his coach before the Hawaii swing.
When working with Anderson at home, Horschel felt the swing was working well, but he’s had issues replicating it in tournament play last week and even in the nine-hole pro-am on Wednesday.
But is determined to give it a go.
“I just couldn't miss this,” Horschel said. “I love this event. I love the course. And so, I think I after talking with Fuch (caddie Mark Fulcher), I think we both would have been sad if we were sitting at home.”