PGA Tour star Billy Horschel lays out career goals

It’s nice to have goals, isn’t it? And Billy Horschel is no different.

But while most of us dream of having a few more birdies and getting our handicap down a bit, Horschel is setting his sights a bit higher.

“I still have a ton of drive and I haven’t come close to accomplishing everything I want to do in this game,” he said ahead of the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. “So until that happens, I’ll keep pushing forward.”

So what is he pushing forward toward?

“I would love to get to number one in the world,” Horschel, currently ranked 16th, said, before slightly softening his ambition.

“The bigger goal [is] I want to become the best player I can be,” he added. “If that means I get the number one player in the world, I get to number one. If that means the best I get to is four, that’s four. But I just want to achieve my full potential.”

Keep going…

“I want to make a Ryder Cup team,” he said. “I’ve made a team, finally, but to sit here and tell you the truth, I want to make a Ryder Cup team. I still have a few more years to try and make one and hopefully be a part of more than just one.”

Go on…

“To tell you the truth, I want to win all the majors.”

All of them? All four? The Grand Slam? As in, the thing only Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen have done in the Masters era?

“That’s always been a goal of mine,” Horschel insisted. “Now, is that realistic?”

No, it’s not.

“I don’t know,” he added.

“And then the last goal,” he continued, because of course that’s not enough, “would be getting multiple or double-digit wins on the PGA Tour.

“Today, in our age of golf and the generation we’re at and on the PGA Tour, if you can say you’ve won 10-plus times, you’ve had one hell of a career. You’re not going to see many guys get to 20 wins any more.”

Well, given he’s on seven – plus the DP World Tour’s flagship event of the BMW PGA Championship – that one, like his Ryder Cup dreams, feels a bit more doable.

“To summarise,” he finished, “10-plus wins on the PGA Tour, win at least one major, make the Ryder Cup team and get the number one player in the world. Those four goals, that’s it.”

Utterly bonkers. But you can only admire it, because once you stop having goals, you lose your drive, and when you lose your drive, you may as well give up. Or join LIV.

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Alex Perry

Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.