Billy Horschel daggers LIV Golf League with latest DP World Tour comments
Greg Norman look away now... Billy Horschel believes the DP World Tour has much better 'quality and talent' than the LIV Golf League.
PGA Tour star Billy Horschel has rolled up in Dubai for the DP World Tour's season finale, and rocked LIV Golf in the process.
Horschel, 37, has travelled over from the United States to play in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
To the Floridian's credit, this week's tournament on the Earth Course will mark Horschel's eighth counting event of the 2024 DP World Tour season.
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Horschel played in three majors in 2024 (he missed out on competing in The Masters) and he added the Genesis Scottish Open, BMW PGA, Dunhill Links, Open de France and DP World Tour Championship to his schedule.
He has more than just made up the numbers too as he took down Rory McIlroy - much to the disappointment of the majority of fans at Wentworth - to win a second BMW PGA title since 2021 on the famed West Course in Virginia Water, England.
Horschel also nearly took out his first major title with a T2 at The 152nd Open behind this year's two-time major champion Xander Schauffele.
That marked his greatest major result to date in 43 career appearances.
It has all contributed to the avid West Ham United fan vaulting to fourth in the DP World Tour Rankings as things stand.
But back to the top of the story, and Horschel's not-so-subtle dagger to the Saudi-bankrolled LIV Golf League.
Scroll below for Horschel's comments...
While Horschel very much considers the PGA Tour to be his home circuit, and that it always will be, he wants to also align himself to the DP World Tour.
Horschel believes the former European Tour circuit is even stronger than the LIV Golf League as the 2024 season draws to a close.
"I support this tour. I love this tour. I think the world of this tour, but at the same time, I don't support this tour 20-plus events out of the year," Horschel told reporters ahead of the DP World Tour Championship.
"Obviously the PGA Tour is where I play mostly but I want to make sure that these guys understand how special this tour is, how special I think it is, and then what I think of them as golfers. I think they are really great players out here.
"I think it's honestly -- and quality and talent-wise, I think it's the second-best tour in the world, and you see it on a regular basis.
"The more I come over here the more, I'm impressed by the way these guys play on TV, I always have but when you see it in person you get a better perspective of the players."
Horschel last month told reporters "I still hold a few grudges" over a number of PGA Tour players who left to join LIV Golf.
LIV Golf has pinched a number of the world's best players from the PGA Tour in recent years, none bigger than former World No.1 and two-time major champion Jon Rahm, who surprisingly decided to bypass this week's DP World Tour Championship.
GolfMagic broke that news to the industry about Rahm last weekend.
Although Rahm did recently welcome his second child into the world, his decision was somewhat a bemusing one to many given he is a record three-time winner of the DP World Tour Championship and the next LIV Golf event is not until February 2025.
LIV Golf's Tyrrell Hatton is in the field though, as too is Joaquin Niemann and Adrian Meronk.
Rahm, Hatton and Meronk were all let back onto the DP World Tour recently as a result of having appealed their fines for joining LIV Golf in 2024.
All three players have also competed in their required four counting events on the DP World Tour this season in order to maintain their membership for 2025, and keep their hopes of playing in Luke Donald's European Ryder Cup team alive.
McIlroy holds a commanding lead atop the DP World Tour Rankings as he closes in on a third straight Race to Dubai title and sixth overall.
Should he win the Race to Dubai this Sunday, he will join late great Seve Ballesteros for six Harry Vardon trophies.
Colin Montgomerie holds the all-time European Tour record for eight Order of Merits.
Only South Africa's Thriston Lawrence can catch McIlroy this week.
Lawrence, who considers McIlroy his "idol", admits he is going to give it everything as he attempts to capture his first title of 2024.
The four-time DP World Tour winner has incredibly finished second five times this season on the DP World Tour.
One of those ties for second came when losing out in a three-man playoff to Horschel at the BMW PGA.
Lawrence will likely need to win the DP World Tour Championship and hope McIlroy finishes outside the top 10 in the 50-man field.
Rasmus Hojgaard lies in third in the DP World Tour Rankings heading into the season finale, with Horschel in fourth.
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