Why everyone thinks Billy Horschel is rocking Taylor Swift bracelet at Valero Texas Open

Billy Horschel is a seven-time PGA TOUR winner who won the 2014 FedExCup, but last season was a struggle. After an opening-round 84 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, he was on the brink of tears.

He finished 90th in the FedExCup, outside the 50 who would get into every Signature Event in 2024. Nor is he one of the 30 players in this week’s Valero Texas Open field who is qualified for next week’s Masters Tournament. The only way to get to Augusta for any of the remaining 126 players in the Valero field is to win this week.

But fear not, for things are looking up for Horschel.

Firstly, he is coming off top-15 finishes in the Texas Children’s Houston Open, Valspar Championship and Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. He’s fifth in the Aon Swing 5; if he can stay in the top five after the Valero, he will earn a berth in the RBC Heritage, one of his favorite tournaments, the week after the Masters. It would mark his first Signature Event this season and give him purchase toward improving his status going forward.

To what does Horschel owe this revival? In part, a Taylor Swift bracelet, not that he even realized it was a Swift bracelet when he put it on. We’ll let him explain:

“So listen, Taylor Swift is massive in my household,” Horschel said. “My girls went to a Taylor Swift concert last year in Atlanta with my wife and they are massive Swifties. So my oldest one, Skylar, made me a bracelet that I've been wearing for almost a year now. It just says Sky, Colbs and Ax.

“And after THE PLAYERS Championship,” he continued, “talking with my team and my wife about I just need to play with less fear … so my wife made me a FEARLESS bracelet.”

"Fearless" was Swift’s second album, released in 2008. And bracelets happen to be a sort of shorthand among Swifties, their words and colors alluding to albums, eras and song titles.

These facts, foundational for Swift fans, were nonetheless barely on Horschel’s radar at the time.

"There's a little more back story behind it,” he said. “I sort of had a dream I think Sunday night of PLAYERS … I'm just going to put a Sharpie on my left wrist that says 'fearless' because I had a dream seeing fearless on my left wrist. (My wife) said, well, I'll just make you a bracelet, so she made me a bracelet. I didn't realize this either, I don't think my wife realized it at the time, I guess Taylor Swift's second or third album is 'Fearless' and she has a song 'Fearless.'

“I'm not the biggest Swiftie” he continued. “I get asked about it a lot from the fans now when I sign autographs, they ask if I'm a Swiftie or if are they friendship bracelets or anything. It's a cool little thing, but also just puts me in the right mind frame of when I'm playing golf of what I want to be thinking about.”