Billy Horschel opens strong at Wyndham Championship but still grades his 2026 season as an ‘F’

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Billy Horschel carded a steady 5-under 65 in Thursday's opening round of the Wyndham Championship, but despite putting himself in position for a much-needed week, the eight-time PGA TOUR winner isn't measuring success by where he stands on the leaderboard.

Horschel knows what's at stake at the regular-season finale, where a strong finish could earn him a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs and improve his position for 2027 Signature Event eligibility. Yet the 39-year-old insists those scenarios aren't driving him this week at Sedgefield Country Club.

"Listen, I know what I need to do this week. I'm not focusing on it one bit," said Horschel, who won the FedExCup in 2014 and made 10 straight Playoffs appearances from 2013-2022. "I'm more or less just focused on trying to play good golf, something I haven't done on a routine basis this year."

That mindset comes after a frustrating season that Horschel doesn't try to sugarcoat. Asked how he would grade his 2026 campaign, he was blunt.

"It's an F, it's an F, there's no doubt about it," Horschel said. "I could try and make it sound better or find something good, but I'm going to put it as it is right now, it's an F. And there's only one way to go and that's up, so that's the great thing about it."

The disappointing results have come after Horschel underwent hip surgery in May 2025, an injury he revealed was more extensive than originally anticipated. He missed six months, including three of the four major championships, and entered 2026 without exemptions into many of the TOUR's biggest events. In 23 starts this season, Horschel has missed 10 cuts, including all three majors he played, despite feeling his game has steadily improved over the past several months.

"The putter has not been friendly," Horschel said. "My stats, when you look at them as a whole, are just terrible throughout, up and down, except for approach play. So, all aspects of my game can improve, but I feel like it's been better the last couple months. The putter's really been the one that's killing the momentum, not making putts, the birdie opportunities, not saving par opportunities."

Searching for answers on the greens, Horschel recently made a significant equipment change after years with the same Ping putter, switching to a Callaway model before this week's Wyndham Championship. The move followed weeks of frustration after strong ball-striking performances at the Genesis Scottish Open (MC) and The Open Championship (MC) yielded little because of poor putting.

"So (Harrison Shih with Callaway) made me this one up, gave it to me at the U.S. Open," Horschel said. "I carried it for a couple weeks, and after the British, after playing really well at the Scottish and British and putting awful, it was time to make a switch."

Horschel said the new putter better suits his eye, but the bigger change has come through the work he's doing with his coach Todd Anderson, who also serves as director of instruction at the PGA TOUR Performance Center at TPC Sawgrass.

"Worked hard the last couple weeks. Switched putters. Todd and I are continuing to do some good stuff," Horschel said. "It's getting better. I'm getting a little bit more confident that when I'm over the ball, I'm going to hit it on my line at the speed I want on a regular basis. That's what I've always been really good at is trusting that I know I'm always going to start on the line with the speed I want, and that's what's made me a really good putter over the years."

That confidence showed Thursday, even if Horschel downplayed the quality of his opening round.

"It was a good round of golf. I don't think I did anything particularly special," said Horschel, who's made 11 cuts – including five top 10s – in 12 previous appearances at the Wyndham. "I would say a pretty boring 65. There wasn't really much excitement except making a 45-foot eagle putt on No. 15."

Whether his week ends with a trip to the FedExCup Playoffs or not (predictions suggest Horschel needs to finish in a two-way tie at T2 to crack the top 70), the 17-year TOUR veteran believes the bigger picture is regaining the form that made him one of the TOUR's most consistent players before his injury.

"As we were talking about the other day, I really just want to play good golf," Horschel said. "I want to get back to waking up in the morning knowing I'm going to go out there and feel like I'm going to play a good round of golf, not hoping to play a good round of golf. Just get some momentum that way."

"If it leads to success that allows me to go next week to Memphis, great. If not, then I'm prepared to play some fall events and do something I haven't done in really a decade plus."