Billy Horschel admitted he wasn’t quite 100 percent coming into the BMW PGA Championship, but as the defending champion, he wanted to do anything he could to make his return be at Wentworth.
Horschel, who in early May had right hip surgery as a preventative measure, returned to competitive golf Thursday in England, where he fired a 1-over 73 at the BMW PGA. The 38-year-old sits outside the cut line heading into Friday’s second round.
“There’s no pain, which is a good thing and the golf game is in a decent spot for coming out of surgery,” Horschel said Wednesday in his pre-tournament news conference. “I am not trying put too much pressure or expectations on myself this week or really the rest of the fall. I’m just trying to build my way back into competitive golf, build my way back into walking a tournament and getting any rust of the game off to be able to hit the ground running in ’26.”
Horschel had two birdies and three bogeys in his return at Wentworth, where European Ryder Cup member Ludvig Aberg is tied for the lead after opening in 8-under 64. He played in the morning wave and avoided an hour-and-a-half weather delay that affected the afternoon participants.
The eight-time PGA Tour winner made 12 starts in 2025, making the cut seven times with a pair of top-10 finishes. His best finish was T-4 at the Valspar Championship. He’s a three-time winner on the DP World Tour, too.
A year ago, Horschel topped Rory McIlroy on the second playoff hole to win the BMW, making an eagle putt on the par-5 18th. His eagle attempt went right in the center of the cup. McIlroy’s barely missed right. Horschel had to birdie the 18th in regulation to get into a playoff with McIlroy and Thriston Lawrence, who hit his third shot in the water on the first playoff hole and didn’t make it to the second playoff hole.
And Thursday was Horschel’s first step getting back into that type of form.
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