Billy Horschel back in mix at Wyndham, eyeing another FedExCup Playoffs push on marathon Sunday

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Billy Horschel couldn’t sleep, so the 6 a.m. flight back to the United States that Monday in July may have been a blessing in disguise.

“I was just still wired too much about that entire week and the opportunity I had,” the 37-year-old said, explaining the restless night.

After all, chances to win a major championship don’t come around that often. Horschel was primed for the biggest win of his career at Royal Troon where he took a one-stroke lead into the final round of The Open Championship.

Even with three closing birdies, though, Horschel fell two strokes shy of Xander Schauffele and his sizzling closing 65. Still, it was his third top 10 and best finish in 43 major championship starts so the what-ifs soon turned into thinking about what he did well.

“I didn't lose the golf tournament,” Horschel said. “I played a really good round of golf. If obviously, I make a few more putts there earlier on the back side, it's a different story. But Xander played unbelievable. You've got to tip your cap to him.”

This week’s Wyndham Championship is Horschel’s first start since the disappointment at Royal Troon. And he’s picked up where he left off with a two-round total of 10 under at Sedgefield Country Club that has left him in contention for his second win of the season.

Horschel will have to survive a marathon finish. Tropical Storm Debby forced the postponement of the first round, and the second round won’t be completed until early Sunday when the players who make the cut will hope to finish 36 more before sunset.

But Horschel knows the Donald Ross gem well, with five top-10 finishes in his last seven starts here, including runner-up to Jim Herman in 2020. He’s 93 under during that stretch and has finished in double digits under par five times.

Another trip to Greensboro couldn’t have come at a better time, too – particularly with Horschel trying to solidify his position in the field at the FedExCup season finale at Atlanta’s historic East Lake Golf Club.

Ranked No. 27 in the FedExCup standings, Horschel is already assured of an 11th trip to the Playoffs. Only the top 30 make it to the TOUR Championship, though, and the man who won the FedExCup in 2014 is making positive strides at Sedgefield, projected to move to No. 21.

“You want to get back on the horse as soon as you can,” Horschel said. “You want to give yourself chances in contention again. My record here has been really good over the last, I would say six, seven years and I knew this course has been fairly kind to me.

“As long as I didn't get too far ahead of myself with expectations or anything, I knew I was going to hopefully have a chance to be in contention again, and I'm right there with 36 to go.”

Horschel had to come back at 8 a.m. Saturday to finish two holes of his first round, polishing off a bogey-free 62 that consisted of six birdies and an eagle. He didn’t go quite as low in the second, but birdies on two of his last three holes capped off an up-and-down 68 and left Horschel well in the mix.

“The pins were really difficult,” Horschel said. “… It was a challenge out there. Obviously, it wasn't as good as 8 under, but it was a solid round of golf.”

Sedgefield’s Bermuda greens suit the Floridian, and he likes the fact that Ross designed the course to put a premium on shot-making. The rains this week have made the rough even more challenging, as well.

“I just think that if it rewards putting the ball on the fairway, you can be as aggressive or as assertive off the tee as you want,” explained Horschel, who has only shot over par once in his last 28 rounds at Sedgefield.

“If you put the ball in the fairway, it lends itself to chances to score because it's not a long golf course, so you're going to have a lot of wedge shots and my wedge game is really good. It has been over the last handful of years, so I just like that aspect of it. ... So just a very comfort, have a very high level of comfort on the golf course.”

Horschel didn’t make the FedExCup Playoffs last year after finishing 90th in the FedExCup. He didn’t start 2024 in any of the lucrative Signature Events, either, although he played his way into the Wells Fargo Championship through the Aon Swing 5 and received sponsor exemptions into the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday and Travelers Championship, as well.

So, getting back in the Playoffs and potentially playing at East Lake is a satisfying accomplishment for Horschel.

“It's huge,” he said. “… Obviously this year was going to be really difficult due to the fact of not being in Signature Events … I felt I've had a really good year. Right now, I'm just trying to position myself in a better position for East Lake, try and get inside that top 10, get inside the top five.

“Obviously, I can't do that this week, but play well this week, play well the next couple weeks, put myself in a really good position going into East Lake and hopefully be able to raise another FedExCup trophy 10 years on from when I did my last one.”