PGA Tour golfer fumes at commentators: “I despise it, honestly, to tell you the truth”
PGA Tour member Billy Horschel reckons golf commentators need to stop telling viewers during broadcasts how much money they players are competing for.
PGA Tour golfer Billy Horschel is no stranger to offering strong opinions.
The 37-year-old’s latest frustration is how golf commentators repeatedly inform their audiences how much money players in the field are competing for.
It go to the point where the American went to the Tour and asked if they could relay messages to the TV crews.
Horschel gets particularly annoyed when the Tour Championship rolls around and people are frequently told how much cash is on the line.
If you didn’t know, PGA Tour’s season finale offers a $75,000,000 purse.
Viktor Hovland is the reigning champion and scooped last year’s $18,000,000 bonus.
Horschel, the 2014 champion, got a bonus cheque for $10,000,000.
Tiger Woods was the first champion of the FedEx Cup in 2007.
Woods was also the recipient of a $10,000,000 prize, which stayed the same until 2019 when Rory McIlroy won and received a $15,000,000 check. “Horschel expressed his dislike for discussing financial matters.
He admitted to despising it while being honest during an interview on the podcast with the former PGA Tour pro, the Smylie Show.”
I have been emphasizing for a long time, particularly at the Tour Championship, that it is necessary to ask television networks to refrain from discussing the monetary prize awarded to the winner of the FedEx Cup, as I am aware that the public is not interested in knowing about the high amounts of money involved.
“He stated that players do not like being constantly reminded of the amount of money at stake as it only serves to diminish their sense of worth further.” Horschel became a part of the Tour in 2011 and has since earned a total of $39,221,692 in official prize winnings. In 2023, the golfer faced a difficult period when he broke down in tears at the Memorial tournament due to a poor start as the defending champion. In April, he regained his winning form by winning the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic after a two-year dry spell. “He then competed in the last major tournament of the year for men, finishing in a tie for second place with Justin Rose while Xander Schauffele dominated to win The Open at Royal Troon.”
Horschel is participating in the Wyndham Championship this week.
He scored 8-under in the first round, putting him two shots behind Beau Hossler.
Hossler came close to shooting a 59 but ultimately scored a 60.
Read more about that here.
FedEx Cup previous winners
| Year | Winner | Prize money |
| 2007 | Tiger Woods | $10,000,000 |
| 2008 | Vijay Singh | $10,000,000 |
| 2009 | Tiger Woods | $10,000,000 |
| 2010 | Jim Furyk | $10,000,000 |
| 2011 | Bill Haas | $10,000,000 |
| 2012 | Brandt Snedeker | $10,000,000 |
| 2013 | Henrik Stenson | $10,000,000 |
| 2014 | Billy Horschel | $10,000,000 |
| 2015 | Jordan Spieth | $10,000,000 |
| 2016 | Rory McIlroy | $10,000,000 |
| 2017 | Justin Thomas | $10,000,000 |
| 2018 | Justin Rose | $10,000,000 |
| 2019 | Rory McIlroy | $15,000,000 |
| 2020 | Dustin Johnson | $15,000,000 |
| 2021 | Patrick Cantlay | $15,000,000 |
| 2022 | Rory McIlroy | $18,000,000 |
| 2023 | Viktor Hovland | $18,000,000 |
