"I was way down the list"- Billy Horschel 'hurt' that Jim Furyk rejected him from the Presidents Cup team
Billy Horschel finished the 2024 season well on the PGA Tour, reaching the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings. However, his final effort was not enough to make the Presidents Cup team.
The captain of the American team, Jim Furyk, announced his free picks for the team on Tuesday, September 3. Billy Horschel was not one of the six selected, but that did not come as a surprise to the player.
Appearing as a guest on the Fairways of Life podcast, Billy Horschel had this to say:
"Jim's a great friend, he’s been an unbelievable role model for me...I didn’t expect to make this team...I knew I was way down the list. I know I made a little push at the end." [0:26 - 1:00]
He added:
"Listen, it hurts because Jim’s a good friend … I wanted to make this Presidents Cup team because he is the captain, but it’s not in the cards for me this year. I’ll play really hard next year and hopefully be part of the Ryder Cup and Keegan’s team next year." [1:02 - 1:18]
On Tuesday, Jim Furyk announced the selection of Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Brian Harman, Russell Henley and Max Homa to complete the American team for the Ryder Cup. They join Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and Sahith Theegala.
Furyk also reported that Bradley will be removed from the vice-captain position for which he was originally selected. His replacement has not yet been named.
Billy Horschel's 2024 Season at a Glance
Billy Horschel had some ups and downs in his performance during the early part of the 2024 season on the PGA Tour. Proof of this is that five of his six cuts came between January and April.
Horschel played 23 events in 2024, with seven top 10s. His best result of the year was winning the Corales Puntacana Championship, the eighth title of his PGA Tour career.
Among his most outstanding performances was a runner-up finish in The Open Championship, by far the best of his career in a major championship. Horschel also played in the PGA Championship, where he tied for eighth, and the US Open, where he tied for 41st.
With these results, he qualified for the FedEx Cup playoffs and finished in the top 10 in the first event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship. This qualified him for the second event, the BMW Championship.
At Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado, Horschel finished in the middle of the leaderboard (T22), which allowed him to return to the top 30 in the FedEx Cup, a position he was unable to achieve in 2023.
Horschel finished 23rd in the FedEx Cup standings.