Horschel Eager to Start New Season in Earnest


Though he's already played one event in the new 2014-15 season - a missed-cut at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open two weeks ago in Las Vegas, Billy Horschel is all set to get his year going in earnest in this week's CIMB Classic in Malaysia.

The reigning FedEx Cup champion finished last season very strong with victories in the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship, earning $12.584 million in those two events alone.

Now ranked 13th in the world, the 27-year-old Floridian joins a solid field in this week's CIMB Classic. Other players in the $7 million tournament include victorious European Ryder Cup teammates Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood, major champions Jason Dufner and Charl Schwartzel, and defending champion Ryan Moore.

It was a busy off-season for Horschel, whose wife Brittany gave birth to the couple's first child just two days after he won the FedEx Cup title. Once an intense player who was unafraid to express his frustrations with himself, Horschel said he has changed following the birth of his daughter Skylar.

"With her, she doesn't care if I play bad or good," he noted about his young daughter. "She just cares that I'm there for her and I love her. Puts some bigger perspective in life that golf is just a sport that we do for fun and whether it's a bad day or a good day, I'm lucky to be walking on this turf and have a great family and wife."

Horschel will be paired in the first two rounds with Schwartzel and Chinese teenager Guan Tianlang. Tianlang made worldwide headlines at the 2013 Masters when he became the youngest player to make a cut in a major championship at 14 years and five months of age. He finished in 58th place.

"I'm lucky enough to be paired with Guan this week, how old is he, 16? What he did at the Masters a couple years was unbelievable," said Horschel. "He made the cut at, what, age 14? At 14 I was nowhere near as good as he is. He's making a big step getting his foot in the game and growing the game in China."

Here's what else Horschel told reporters during his Tuesday Q&A at the site of this week's CIMB Classic, Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.

MODERATOR: We welcome 2014 FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel to the CIMB Classic. I know you played here last year but a few things have changed for you. You're now a proud father and obviously a successful 2014 season. Can we get some opening comments about being here and maybe how you look at this tournament differently now?

BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, I'm excited to be back here in Kuala Lumpur at the golf course, especially CIMB. First year last year and I had an absolute blast. I think the golf course is probably one of the top golf courses we play on Tour. I think the city is unbelievable. I enjoy this city a lot. I was pleasantly surprised coming here last year. Everyone is so nice and so respectful and the food's amazing, at accommodations, everything that CIMB does this week is first class and I wouldn't expect it any other way.

Like I said, happy be to back here and looking forward to another great year and hopefully we can make it a victory this year. And obviously with the FedEx Cup with the wraparound season, this starts and goes a long way towards the end of the year. So playing here this week and playing next week in Shanghai, if I can get two good tournaments under my belt and hopefully a victory, it can help me possibly FedEx Cup next year.

MODERATOR: You're one of the first players out on the golf course Monday morning. Does that say something to how your focus is, coming in to play well this week?

BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, even though I've won the FedEx Cup and did a lot of great things the past six weeks ago, I'm still a guy who wants to get better and improve and has high standards for himself. That has not changed at all. I want to make sure I'm prepared to play well every week I play. So I wanted to get over here and got here Sunday morning just to get adjusted to the time change the best I could and got out here first thing yesterday morning and played nine holes and same thing this morning. Feel good right where the game is. And like I said, I think the course is in great shape. They did a couple changes to the golf course. Obviously it's a little bit better than the last year but the course is in perfect condition like it was last year.

Q. What do you do to prepare (inaudible).

BILLY HORSCHEL: There's a checklist that I have every week, I want to make sure I've hit enough golf balls and feel comfortable in my swing. When Thursday comes, I don't really want to do a lot of work after my round. I want to be able to take it easy, if I have to go hit a couple balls, a few huts, I'll do that but make sure Monday and Tuesday are my preparations and go through my checklist and once Thursday comes, hopefully I've prepared right and the game is in the right condition and have a chance to win come Sunday.

Q. It's a glamorous sport, we all think, but tough times that you guys have, getting up very early in the morning, flying when you're not working, making big money. But I know that you are a very generous person, but you always keep that to yourself. Your charities and the work that you do behind the scenes for other people, it's not always known to most people. Maybe you could tell us a bit about that?

BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, I'm a private person. I like to, obviously I play a sport that's very public and a lot is known about the majority of the players out here. But I like to try to keep the things I do public, I try not to always - I'm not a guy who is, hey, look at what I'm doing. I just want to go about my business, and if someone wants to recognize me for it, that's fine. I'm not looking for recognition.

But charities, Habitat for Humanity, it's a charity back home in the United States that I'm a part of. I'm becoming part of a charity, a food bank, in Jacksonville. When I get back home, I'm going to go there one day with my wife and everything. I help a lot of other guys out with charities when they have their events. The best thing I can do is just help. I've been blessed with what's been given to me and I just want to help out as many people as I can.

Chris DiMarco is a good friend of mine and he's been a mentor of mine since when I turned pro, and he just had his event yesterday actually. I've been a part of it for last several years, and the last year I wasn't been because I've been over here. But his event raises money for kids with cancer and sends them to a summer camp that they can be a part of other kids that have experience with cancer and just get away from the struggles that they have been dealt with. So like I said I'm not a guy who is a flashy guy, obviously how I dress and everything. But when it comes to charities, I just like to go about my business and if someone wants to bring recognition to it, I'm happy to be a part of it that way.

Q. You've won the FedEx Cup and you've done pretty well this season. How has life changed?

BILLY HORSCHEL: It hasn't changed much. With winning the FedEx Cup and winning that amount of money, it has not changed me and has not changed my wife and has not changed my parents or anyone around me. I'm still the same person I was before that money in that great FedEx Cup victory. The only thing that's changed is I'm recognized a little bit more back home. My pictures are on a lot of buildings around town, and I do a couple more media interviews on Wednesdays now. Not much has changed, and I don't want to change.

I think money and stuff that I've accomplished has sort of changed people in the past and I sort of recognize that and I'm always learning as a player what to do and what not to do. I knew when I won the FedEx Cup I was still going to be the same person and still going to go about my business the same way and still going to work hard, and treat everyone that I come across. I feel like how I want to be treated. Like I said nothing's changed and just a little bit more recognition and a few more international views.

MODERATOR: The FedEx Cup, but how your new daughter, has that changed your perspective, having your first child.

BILLY HORSCHEL: My little girl, Skylar, absolutely love her to death. She was born six weeks ago today. So it's been a truly amazing experience. I'm so happy to be a father. You know, it's sort of sad a little bit not to be home the next two weeks to be with my wife and her, but I've got a job to do and I'm happy to be here for the next two weeks.

So we've been Facetiming a little bit. And been talking and seen her through the iPad and everything. But yeah, it just brings a new meaning. Golf isn't what it used to be. I used to think of golf as life or death, if I played bad, it showed, and I wasn't a pleasant person to be around. With her, she doesn't care if I play bad or good. She just cares that I'm there for her and I love her. Putts some bigger perspective in life that golf is just a sport that we do for fun and whether it's a bad day or a good day, I'm lucky to be walking on this turf and have a great family and wife.

Q. You won two great tournaments in succession. The one before, you were standing on the 18th tee I think with a two shot lead. What happened and how did you manage to overcome that to win the next two?

BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, it's unfortunate I just made a bad swing at the wrong time there at Deutsche Bank in Boston. Had a great chance to make a playoff. Had a 6 iron in my hand. Unfortunately I backed off the golf shot, I was feeling really confident. I actually told my caddie, I'm going to hit it on the green and I'm going to make eagle and win it outright. Unfortunately I just hit it fast. I had to back off the golf shot. Should have gave myself another five ten seconds, just to make sure I had a clear picture in my head, and unfortunately just hit a bad shot at the wrong time.

You know, it happens. Unfortunately, like I said, if it happened any other time early in the round it wouldn't have been a big deal but with it being on 18 with a lot riding on that golf shot, a lot of people want to make it a bigger deal than what it was. In my mind it wasn't a big deal. It was a bad swing at the wrong time. I knew the kind of player that I was. I knew that I finally played a good tournament, and it's been a while since I put four good rounds together.

So there's a lot more positives to take away from that week than a negative. I felt good with where my game was and I knew if I would just keep going about my business the next two weeks, that maybe I could get a victory, and do something special. You know, lo and behold, I win twice and I win the FedEx Cup. Obviously handling that situation the way I did, maybe I got rewarded for it.

MODERATOR: I know you're a big American football fan, that's the game that we play in the United States but golf is truly a global game. Talk about the PGA Tour and your ability your co-workers ability to come to Asia and Malaysia and the growth of the game and how you think it will help spread the game that you love so much.

BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, I think we're struggling right now in the United States to bring people to the game of golf, and it's unfortunate, trying to find ways to do it. I think when you look at golf in a global aspect, I think the boom where you're going to see a lot more golfers enter the game is in Asia. We've already seen that already.

There have been unbelievable players to come already and make their names known. Obviously K.J. Choi has done an unbelievable good job with the Koreans and they really look up to him. I'm lucky enough to be paired with Guan this week, how old is he, 16? What he did at the Masters a couple years was unbelievable. He made the cut at, what, age 14? At 14 I was nowhere near to as good as he is. He's making a big step getting his foot in the game and growing the game in China.

So I think for us to come over here and show our talent and help in any way we can to increase the game of golf, get more exposure, get more people involved in the game of golf, I'm willing to do that. I love the game of golf. The game of golf has been so great to me, and I've been so blessed with so many opportunities. And there are so many more players that we can get involved in the game.

I think we can see how great this game is, and it's come a long way and whether it's the PGA Tour or whether it's outside or in business or just playing with people in your company or president and CEOs of a company, it goes a long way. I'm happy to be over here. You see a lot of excitement with this tournament here at CIMB and next week at HSBC.

MODERATOR: What are your goals for this season, anything in particular?

BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, one goal I'm making public is I want to be the first guy to defend the FedEx Cup. No one has been able to do it. There's only been one guy to win two FedEx Cups and that's a guy by the name of Tiger Woods, he's not too bad. But I want to be the first guy to defend the FedEx Cup, and I've made that known to my wife and my family and people, my instructors and everyone else and we're saying in interviews, too, that I want that chance to defend the FedEx Cup. So that's one of the goals. That would be an unbelievable thing to do.

MODERATOR: Thanks for your time. Good luck this week.

The transcript for the above interview is courtesy of ASAP Sports.