HONOLULU (AP) — Billy Horschel returned from five months away for hip surgery wanting to play three times to see how his hip and his game felt. His final stop was the Bank of Utah Championship the last week in October, a tie for 11th that kept him at No. 40 in the world.
He knew it was going to be close without checking on the Official World Golf Ranking math, and it was. Even with a late invitation to the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, where
he finished 15th, Horschel slipped out of the top 50 in the world by the end of the year.
He goes into 2026 without an invitation to the Masters, and with no regrets that he didn't add another tournament to try to assure being top 50 by the end of the year.
“Before Utah, I was thinking about playing Bermuda and Cabo (Mexico),” Horschel said at the Sony Open. “But I got what I needed out of my three events. I was trying to get back into the groove of things, see where my game was.”
And now?
“I'm betting on myself,” said Horschel, who has until the Houston Open to get back into the top 50. “My wife is always very honest. She said, ‘If you miss the Masters, and don’t qualify for The Players, you need to make sure you're not second-guessing yourself.' You make your decision, you make your bed. If I don't make The Players or Masters, I'm not going to say I should have played.”
Horschel recalls a similar predicament at the end of 2023 when he was No. 63. He got off to a slow start and failed to reach the Masters. But he was willing to go to an opposite-field event in the Dominican Republic a week after the Masters. He won that, was runner-up at the British Open, won the BMW PGA Championship in England and ended the year at No. 16.
Waialae Country Club would seem to be the perfect fit for Jordan Spieth with its Bermuda grass, small, smooth greens and wind. The last time he was at the Sony Open in 2023, he shared the 18-hole lead and then missed the cut.
He returns for the first time this year because he thought it was the right place, and because it has been five months since his last PGA Tour start. Spieth narrowly missed out on the top 50, and then didn't play in the fall.
“I was off for so long, waiting for so long, I wanted to play,” Spieth said. “I like Bermuda and the wind. It's what I've been playing the last four months in Dallas.”
He ruled out The American Express because he has never played the California desert and did not like the idea of having to learn three courses in the rotation. Torrey Pines isn't always the best match with its long, soft conditions.
Rory McIlroy opened with a 62 in the Dubai Invitational for the tournament’s inaugural playing in 2024. That now becomes the target for a bonus that keeps growing on the European tour.
The tour awards a $10,000 prize to the first player who sets a course record, provided that record stands by the end of the week. Any tie goes to the first player who shot the low round. If no one breaks the 18-hole scoring record, it carries over to the next week with another $10,000.
No course records were shot during the opening four events on the European tour schedule. That means anyone who breaks the course record in the Dubai Invitational will get a $50,000 bonus.
The four-day badge for the Masters now goes for $525, a $75 increase from last year.
Badges already are taken, of course. Golfweek reported the patrons received an email last week announcing the cost. It’s the first price increase for the series badge since 2023.
It’s still the best deal in sports given the prestige of the tournament ($131.25 per day). The badge went to $100 for the first time in 1993 and stayed that price until going to a whopping $125 in 2001, the year Tiger Woods won to become the only player to hold all four major titles.
Daily tickets sold by lottery (the lottery closed June 20) also saw a slight increase. Those are $125 for practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday, $150 for Wednesday (which includes the Par 3 contest) and $160 for tournament days (up from $140 last year).
The Sentry at Kapalua was canceled because of water issues, but the Wisconsin-based insurance company still kept its ties to Maui.
The Sentry Foundation last week announced a $1 million commitment for three organizations — $500,000 to the Maui United Way for a program that provides trauma-informed mental health services for children and families; $250,000 to the Maui Food Bank; and $250,000 to Aloha Pu’u Kukui to restore native Hawaiian forest and watershed systems.
“The relationships we’ve built in Maui continue to guide how we support this community in thoughtful and appropriate ways,” said Pete McPartland, the chairman and CEO of Sentry. “We admire the resilience of the Maui community but also recognize that needs remain high as rebuilding continues. We know these three organizations are well-equipped to help the community move forward — because we’ve watched their dedication up close for many years.”
The Sentry has a title sponsorship contract through 2035. Still to be determined is whether its place on the 2027 PGA Tour schedule is on Maui or elsewhere.
Tom Phillips is the next CEO of the Ladies European Tour, bringing with him the vast experience in golf administration and most recently the Middle East director for the European tour.
Phillips led 30 employees in the United Arab Emirates during significant growth for the European tour, including the deal that made DP World the title sponsor. The DP World Tour, as it is known commercially, now has six events in the Middle East, three of them part of the Rolex Series.
He previously was CEO of the Hong Kong Golf Association, led business development for Mission Hills China and spent nearly 15 years as CEO of the Faldo Series.
Phillips takes over for Alexandra Armas, who announced last summer she was stepping down after her second stint as CEO of the LET. He starts on April 6. The LET already has announced 27 tournaments for the year, with three more still to be confirmed. Six of the regular events have prize money of at least $2 million.
The season starts Feb. 11-14 with the PIF Saudi Ladies International and a $5 million purse.
The Masters adds to its field this week with the Latin America Amateur Championship winner. The tournament is being held in Peru. The winner of the Sony Open also earns an invitation — 96 players in the 120-man field are not already in the field at Augusta National. ... Tony Finau is among those not eligible for the Masters going into 2026. He has played the last eight times. ... This is the first Sony Open that did not have a Monday qualifier because of the 120-man field.
Fourteen of the 30 players from the Tour Championship are at the Sony Open, the first tournament of the 2026 PGA Tour season.
“The PGA Tour continues to offer the best professional golfers the most competitive, challenging and lucrative environment in which to pursue greatness.” — PGA Tour statement on Dec. 23 when Brooks Koepka left LIV Golf.
“As the world’s golf league, LIV Golf continues to offer the best professional golfers the most competitive, challenging, and lucrative environment in which to pursue greatness on a global scale.” — LIV Golf statement on Jan. 12 when Koepka returned to the PGA Tour.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
