19th Hole
Billy Horschel went off on LIV defectors in pre-Scottish Open press conference
At this morning’s Scottish Open pre-tournament press conference, Billy Horschel was extremely critical of the LIV Golf defectors who were allowed a stay to play in this week’s event at The Renaissance Club.
When asked for his thoughts on the situation, the 35-year-old didn’t hold back.
“I believe they made their bed. They decided to go may a tour and they should go play that tour. They shouldn’t be coming back over here to play the DP World Tour or the PGA TOUR. To say that they wanted to also support this tour or the DP or PGA TOUR going forward, while playing the LIV Tour, is completely asinine in my opinion. To play the PGA TOUR, you’ve got to play 15 events and their schedule is 8 events, 14; so say they are going to play 29 events a year and still hold membership on the PGA TOUR is ridiculous.
“I know it’s easy on the DP World Tour where you only have to play four events a year outside the majors and WGC events. But my sitting here, being able to talk to the DP World Tour players over the last couple years, having a conversation with them at the BMW International Open.
“Just coming to play the big events on the DP World Tour, yeah, that helps but that’s not supporting the DP World Tour. Go play something that’s not a Rolex Series Event. Go play something that’s not in the Middle East. That’s more important to the DP World Tour and the growth of the Tour and giving back to the Tour and hoping these guys in the financial sense, making sure that financially they are getting the rewards that they deserve over here. They have lacked the rewards that we have on the PGA TOUR. Obviously there’s a multitude of reasons for it but these guys deserve the same set of rewards over here that we get on the PGA TOUR. So it’s unfortunate that those guys made their bed and that’s what they want to do.
“Leave us alone, honestly. They keep talking about PGA TOUR doesn’t listen to them — I’m carrying on to your question because this is something — the last week’s events I’ve been really frustrated by because there are a lot of guys that are hypocrites that are not telling the truth and lying about some things that I just can’t stand to sit here anymore and be diplomatic anymore about it as I have been in the past.
“I don’t fault anyone for going to play the LIV Tour. I don’t have any ill will for anyone going to play the LIV Tour. I don’t feel ill will about the comments they make, comments that Jay Monahan doesn’t listen to PGA TOUR (players) or that Jay Monahan doesn’t listen to us. Jay Monahan and everyone at headquarters is the PGA TOUR. They work tirelessly for us to reap financial rewards and have all the opportunities that we have.
“At the same time I am one of the 200 plus members of the PGA TOUR, I am the PGA TOUR. So when you take shots at the PGA TOUR, you’re taking — at Jay Monahan, you’re not just taking shots at them. You’re taking shots at us, and to say that they don’t listen is a complete far as, it really is. They can’t listen. If they listen to everything 200-plus players on the PGA TOUR said, our tour would be a complete mess. We wouldn’t have a tour.
“So it’s ridiculous to hear some of the comments these guys make, saying, well, this allows me to play less tournaments. I play 30, 35 weeks a year. No one’s forced you to play that many events. PGA TOUR says 15 events minimum, all you have to do is play 15 events and you keep your card in those 15 events then that’s fine. If you want to play better or you want to play more so you get a chance to win the FedExCup, so be it. So be it. No one has made you play that first Playoff event to go miss family obligations. No one has.
“Yes, we are independent contractors; we do sign a contract with the PGA TOUR to meet certain requirements of the PGA TOUR. But we have the opportunity to make our schedule so to say that we have to play X amount of event and they don’t have time off, no one makes you. I’m on the road for five weeks. I have not seen my family for three weeks. I haven’t seen them for the last three weeks: U.S. Open, didn’t see them in Germany, I stayed over here in London for a week, I’m staying over this week and I’m staying for next week, so five weeks. That’s what my wife and I decided, when we laid our schedule out, it just worked that way. I made that decision to not see my wife and kids for five weeks. Am I crying about it? No. I understand. I’m living my dream trying to play golf professionally and support my family financially.
“So, I’m just tired of these comments. Like go play the LIV Tour and forget about the PGA TOUR. Maybe they don’t want to support the PGA TOUR going forward. Don’t tell me you’re going to play LIV and then go play 15 events on the PGA TOUR and playing 20. That’s not a small schedule, that’s not playing less.”
When asked about the mood in the locker room in regard to the LIV defectors, Horschel said there was some division.
“Listen, there is a little division in the locker room and some are more upset than others. I have no ill will but I’m just tired of hearing comments that aren’t truthful.
“There are some guys and in all respect, top two guys, mid-level guys, bottom-level guys are upset that feel they are abandoning the PGA TOUR. Yeah, there is — do I know the percentage, no, but just some comments I’ve heard that guys are frustrated, and if that’s what they want to do, just go away, stay away. Like if you don’t want to be a part of this tour which has given you so many opportunities to make a name and build a financial stability for your family and everything, then that’s fine. Just stay away and we’ll be fine without you guys.”
Billy didn’t stop there, and he questioned how honest the players who joined LIV were being with their reasoning for the decision.
“Listen, there is a little division in the locker room and some are more upset than others. I have no ill will but I’m just tired of hearing comments that aren’t truthful.
“There are some guys and in all respect, top two guys, mid-level guys, bottom-level guys are upset that feel they are abandoning the PGA TOUR. Yeah, there is — do I know the percentage, no, but just some comments I’ve heard that guys are frustrated, and if that’s what they want to do, just go away, stay away. Like if you don’t want to be a part of this tour which has given you so many opportunities to make a name and build a financial stability for your family and everything, then that’s fine. Just stay away and we’ll be fine without you guys.”
19th Hole
‘Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight’ – LPGA pro offers candid take following rough AIG Women’s Open finish
An opening round of 77 left LPGA pro Jenny Shin with a mountain to climb at last week’s AIG Women’s Open.
However, fighting back with rounds of 69 and 67, Shin found herself six shots off the lead and just outside the top 10 heading into Sunday as she went in search of her first major victory.
Shin, who won the US Girls’ Junior at just 13, couldn’t back those rounds up on Sunday, though, and after playing her opening nine holes of the final round in level par, she then bogeyed three holes coming home to slip down the leaderboard and eventually finish T23.
Taking to X following the final round, Shin offered a frustrated and honest take on how she was feeling, posting: “Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight. What a crappy way to finish.”
Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight. What a crappy way to finish
— Jenny Shin (@JennyShin_LPGA) August 3, 2025
Shin has made 11 cuts in 13 starts on the LPGA Tour this season, but has been plagued by frustrating Sunday finishes throughout the year. Shin ranks 102nd on tour this year out of 155 for Round 4 scoring in 2025.
Miyu Yamashita won the 2025 AIG Women’s Open with a composed final round of 70 to win her first major of her career by two strokes.
Cameron Young won the Wyndham Championship on Sunday for his first victory on the PGA Tour.
Young dominated all weekend at TPC Sedgefield, running away from the pack to win by six strokes and put himself in contention for a Ryder Cup pick in September.
Ahead of the event, the 28-year-old switched to a Pro V1x prototype golf ball for the first time, following recent testing sessions with the Titleist Golf Ball R&D team.
Interestingly, Young played a practice round accompanied by Fordie Pitts, Titleist’s Director of Tour Research & Validation, at TPC Schedule early last week with both his usual Pro V1 Left Dot ball and the new Pro V1x prototype.
Per Titleist, by the second hole Young was exclusively hitting shots with the Pro V1x prototype.
“We weren’t sure if he was going to test it this week, but as he was warming up, he asked to hit a couple on the range,” Pitts said. “He was then curious to see some shots out on the course. Performance-wise, he was hitting tight draws everywhere. His misses were staying more in play. He hit some, what he would call ‘11 o’clock shots,’ where again he’s taking a little something off it. He had great control there.”
According to Titleist, the main validation came on Tuesday on the seventh hole of his practice round. The par 3 that played between 184 and 225 yards during the tournament called for a 5-iron from Young, or so he thought. Believing there was “no way” he could get a 6-iron to the flag with his Left Dot, Young struck a 5-iron with the Pro V1x prototype and was stunned to see the ball land right by the hole.
“He then hits this 6-iron [with the Pro V1x prototype] absolutely dead at the flag, and it lands right next to the pin, ending up just past it,” Pitts said. “And his response was, ‘remarkable.’ He couldn’t believe that he got that club there.”
Following nine holes on Tuesday and a further nine on Wednesday, Young asked the Titleist team to put the ProV1x balls in his locker. The rest, as they say, is history.
Rickie Fowler fired an opening round of one-under par on Thursday at the Wyndham Championship, as the Californian looks to make a FedEx Cup playoff push.
Fowler is currently 61st in the standings, so will need a strong couple of weeks to extend his season until the BMW Championship, where only the top 50 in the standings will tee it up.
Heading into the final stretch of the season, Fowler has made an equipment switch of note, changing into new iron shafts, as well as making a switch to his driver shaft.
The 36-year-old revealed this week that he has switched from his usual KBS Tour C-Taper 125-gram steel shafts to the graphite Aerotech SteelFiber 125cw shafts in his Cobra King Tour irons, a change he first put into play at last month’s Travelers Championship.
Speaking on the change to reporters this week, Fowler made note that the graphite shafts offer “something that’s a little easier on the body.”
“I mean, went to the week of Travelers, so been in for, I guess that’s a little over a month now. Something that’s a little easier on the body and seemed to get very similar numbers to where I was at. Yeah, it’s gone well so far.”
Fowler has also made a driver shaft change, switching out his Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX for a UST Mamiya Lin-Q Proto V1 6 TX driver shaft in his Cobra DS-Adapt X, which he first implemented a couple of weeks ago at the John Deere Classic.
However, according to Fowler himself, the testing and potential changes are not done yet.
“Probably do some more testing in some different weight configurations with them once I get some time. Yeah, I feel like we’re always trying to search, one, to get better but are there ways to make things easier, whether that’s physically, mentally, whatever it may be. So yeah, I thought they were good enough to obviously put into play and looking forward to doing some more testing.”
Fowler gets his second round at TPC Sedgefield underway at 7.23 a.m ET on Friday.
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
