DALLAS – Billy Horschel readily admits that the highlight of his AT&T Byron Nelson victory last year had nothing to do with him edging Jason Day in a playoff.
Horschel won the tournament’s final stop at TPC Las Colinas in dramatic fashion, ending a three-year victory drought and turning around his season. But at the time he had no idea that his wife, Brittany, would use the occasion to go public with her battle with alcoholism.
With Brittany celebrating two years of sobriety on Monday, Horschel remains amazed at the groundswell of support his family received in the wake of her announcement.
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“It was the right time for us to win, because it gave us the right podium, the right platform to come out with our struggle, my wife’s struggle dealing with alcoholism,” Horschel said Wednesday. “That’s really the best thing that came out of me winning.”
Things have continued to progress for Horschel’s golf game in the months since, as he advanced to the BMW Championship last season and teamed with Scott Piercy to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last month for his fifth career victory. While the scene for his title defense has shifted across town to Trinity Forest, he still has plenty of positive memories for what this tournament meant to his family, both on and off the course.
“Actually the last two years have been the best of our entire relationship,” Horschel said. “It’s been a long road to get here, and my wife still battles everyday like everyone else who deals with an addiction. It’s always going to be a disease, it’s going to be something they have to deal with every day to try and maintain their sobriety. But she’s got a great support staff at home, she’s got great friends.”
Source: Internet
