A hip injury derailed Billy Horschel’s 2025 season, sidelining him for six months and keeping him out of three of the four major championships. In the process, he dropped outside the top 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking (he is now in jeopardy of falling out of the top 50) and out of the top 50 in the FedExCup. He will begin 2026 without exemptions into most of the top events.

How is Horschel feeling? And where does he go from here?

Horschel chatted with PGATOUR.COM during the Hero World Challenge to discuss his recovery, starting 2026 without Signature Event status and major championship exemptions and his potential post-career media aspirations.

PGATOUR.COM: Fourth start back since hip surgery, how’s the body feel?

BILLY HORSCHEL: Every start, the body has felt better. It felt stronger. Body feels good. The hip flexor is a little tight right now, but that's just because I don't really walk much. Since Utah, I mean, I've walked yesterday a little bit (Wednesday of Hero), and I walked 18 holes the Monday of Thanksgiving week, I had a little fun event. I did it at Old Memorial (Golf Club in Tampa, Florida). Other than that, it feels really good. How much I do one day – it doesn't affect me from doing as much or more the next day.

PGATOUR.COM: Have you been able to stay patient during the rehab process?

HORSCHEL: I was decently patient for a period of time, and then after the 10-week mark (post-surgery), I felt like I should have been doing more. I wasn't the nicest person to my PT for a week. It wasn't her fault. It was just, I felt good. I felt like I should be doing more. I know it's going to take time. I know it's gonna take weeks and months for it to fully heal and fully get back. But, you're gonna have those moments where you want to do more, you want to push more. That’s just my DNA. I'm not ever satisfied. I think I should always do more. For the most part, I think I've been very good except for a few moments here and there.

PGATOUR.COM: Any restrictions on what you can do on or off the golf course?

HORSCHEL: No, I've been pretty good for a while now. I can do as much as I want in the gym and do as much as I want on a golf course. I have no issues.

PGATOUR.COM: Because of the hip injury, you missed a majority of the season and fell outside the top 50 in the FedExCup. That means you aren’t exempt into any Signature Events and still have work to do to qualify for some of the majors. How are you approaching that?

HORSCHEL: It happens. I think I've always had a good disposition for the majority of my career. Whenever something happens that's not bright, or something bad happens, I always feel like something good on the backside is going to come from it. I feel the same way. I just have to be patient. I may be able to sneak into the Masters by the end of the year by staying inside the top 50 (of the Official World Golf Ranking). I'm in The Open Championship for the next couple years through my win at the BMW PGA Championship. The PGA Championship – I look like I should probably get in there. So it’s the U.S. Open and then the Signature Events, which are really important.

But because I wasn't in them in 2024, and I played really well to (play my way) into two or three towards the end of the year, and I had a really good year, I know I can do it again. I just have to be patient. I just have to focus on a daily goal, which I've always done. Don't get too far out over my skis. If I can do that, we'll be fine. I've got a good team that keeps me in check. I have to do a really good job as well of making sure, like, "Hey, this is, you know, it's a day that you can keep building." And as long as you keep building and you keep believing what you're doing, I always feel like success will come.

PGATOUR.COM: Will you play a heavy schedule to begin the year to help play your way into some of the bigger events?

HORSCHEL: I may play 12, 13 straight weeks. I’m going over to the Sony Open in Hawaii. My record's decent there. I've had some good finishes. I like the course; it suits me well. Right now, I'm planning to play the first four events, and then if I get into the Signature Events, that’s six in a row, and then you come back to the Florida Swing, and it's really tough for me to miss events in the Florida Swing because I'm born and raised in Florida. I want to support those events. So I could play 10, 11 weeks in a row to start the year. If that's the case, that's a really good problem to have.

PGATOUR.COM: While you were sidelined, you stayed busy with media appearances on various podcasts and the PGA TOUR Studios’ "The Drop." What was it like dipping your toe into media? Is it something you want to do more of?

HORSCHEL: It was really cool. It's something that I’ve thought about for the last few years. You know, when I get done playing, what do I want to do? How much do I still want to stay connected to the game? There are some things that interest me. There are some things that I can be good at and some things that I won't be good at. I think on-course analysis, I don't really have a desire for that. I would love to be in the booth on 18 as a Johnny Miller. I think what Johnny Miller did for so long, people loved him or hated him, but he called it out as it is. I think we're missing a little bit of that. But I'm not sure if my skill set is good enough for the 18th tower. I think I can call golf shots really well and call it as I see it. But I think, telling little stories or quick little one-liners that Nick Faldo or Kevin Kisner may have, I'm not really good at that.

I think something that I would excel at would be sitting next to Brandel Chamblee and Paul McGinley on "Live From," doing it before and after rounds. I think that's something that fits my skill set and what I'm able to do. That would be something that I would entertain if that came along after I was done playing golf.