TGL competitor says he was joking after PGA Tour fans claim: "You said the quiet part loud"

PGA Tour pro Billy Horschel says he claimed a TGL official told him 'to keep the score close' during Atlanta's match against New York.

Credit: TGL media hub
Credit: TGL media hub

PGA Tour member Billy Horschel says he was joking when he claimed a TGL producer told him to keep the score close

Horschel made his debut in the hi-tech golf league, fronted by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, on 21 January. 

The 38-year-old and his Atlanta teammates Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay ran out 4-0 winners against New York's Rickie Fowler, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Cameron Young. 

Related:

Horschel clearly enjoyed his first outing a the SoFi Center but in a post-match interview appeared to concede it wasn't great that the first two contests have been blowouts. 

The Bay won the first TGL match 9-2 against New York and Tiger Woods' Jupiter Links were battered 12-1 by Los Angeles. 

"We're having a great competition," Horschel said. "Obviously the last two weeks have been blowouts and this one isn't. 

"Jeff, the producer, has asked us nicely to keep it close and we're trying to accommodate him as much as we can."

Unsurprisingly, social media was buzzing after Horschel's comments were widely shared. 

"Saw this happen live and I thought it was an interesting thing to say," one X user wrote. 

"But he did laugh afterwards jokingly so I took it for what it's worth."

Another added: "We all want to see a better match, but I hope he is joking."

This person wrote: "So it's wrestling basically."

Horschel has now claimed he was being sarcastic. 

He wrote on X: "Anyone heard of sarcasm or a joke! Sorry if I suck at it."

Horschel added: "I think we (both teams) clearly showed that we wanted to win every hole possible."

The golfer's claim was also met with a mixed response. 

"If you are going to apologise for anything from that night, the entrance dance moves should be at the top of your list," came on reply. 

The user was referring to Horschel's 'Dirty Bird' dance on his way in to the arena. 

Horschel tried to get the aforementioned Cantlay to do a version of it after their victory but his teammate didn't oblige. 

The next TGL match will take place on 27 January. 

McIlroy and his Boston Common Golf will finally make their debut and they are up against Woods' team. 

The Northern Irishman attended opening night. 

He acknowledged TGL wasn't for everyone and he told reporters: "We're certainly not trying to replace tournament golf."

McIlroy added: "This is hopefully going to be complimentary to what we do week-in, week-out, and if we can get some more younger people and people, that sort of TikTok generation into the game of golf and condense it into a bite-size version that they can enjoy and relate to in another way, that's really what we are trying to do here.

"Look, we obviously understand that this is very different than anything that's been done before, and we also understand it's not going to be for everyone.

"So if you're a complete traditionalist of the game, it's probably not for you, but that's fine.

"That's not the audience that we're going for."

Watched our latest YouTube video?

Remote video URL

Sponsored Posts