Billy Horschel calls out 'brainwashed' LIV Golf players, says PGA Tour was 'vindicated' by court ruling
The FedEx Cup playoffs began Thursday with the St. Jude Championship
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Seven-time PGA Tour winner Bill Horschel has been one of the more outspoken players to criticize the rival Saudi-backed LIV Golf league and Wednesday, Horschel revealed his true feelings toward former members who filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Tour with hopes of being able to return.
"I said to some of the guys personally, I think they’ve been brainwashed by the way they feel so adamant that they’re going to be back out on the PGA Tour," Horschel told Golf Channel ahead the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Billy Horschel reacts to his shot during the first round of the Masters on April 8, 2021, in Augusta, Georgia. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
"I’ve had some of them tell me … ‘I’ll see you Tour again,’ and I say, ‘No, you won’t.’ A couple of them are pretty brainwashed in the way they’re thinking and what they’ve been told."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CAMERON SMITH SHUTS DOWN QUESTIONS ABOUT LIV GOLF DEAL: ‘I’M HERE TO WIN THE FEDEX CUP PLAYOFFS’
A federal judge in California denied a temporary restraining order filed by three players seeking an injunction to play in the FedEx Cup playoffs on Tuesday after the Tour argued that lifting the suspensions of the golfers and allowing them to play would "change the status quo" for the PGA Tour and "give them a fabulous platform" to promote the LIV tour while competing in a PGA event.
Greg Norman, CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf, and Talor Gooch during the LIV Golf Invitational on July 31, 2022, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Horschel said Wednesday that he, like others on the Tour, feels "vindicated" by the court’s decision.
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"I just feel, as do a lot of members of the PGA Tour and a lot of employees of the PGA Tour, a small vindication at this point because it’s not over, but everything that’s been done is correct, and we [the Tour] are within our own right to do what they’ve done."
Billy Horschel drives from the 15th tee during the Memorial golf tournament Saturday, June 4, 2022, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Other players on the Tour echoed that sentiment.
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"From my vantage point, common sense prevailed, and I thought it was the right decision," four-time majors winner Rory McIlroy said.
The St. Jude Championship kicked off on Thursday with rumors that Cameron Smith, the No. 2 ranked golfer in the playoffs, has already inked a deal with LIV Golf.