The Loop

Billy Horschel says security concerns would have caused him to skip WGC-Mexico Championship

February 27, 2017
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Sam Greenwood

Billy Horschel was not one of the 77 players who wound up qualifying for this week's WGC-Mexico Championship. However, the 2014 FedEx Cup champ said he wouldn't have made the trip to Mexico City even if he had earned a spot in the field.

Citing security concerns, Horschel told reporters following his final round at the Honda Classic that his decision to stay home this week had already been made.

“I think the WGC events are great events. I just wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to Mexico City,” Horschel said of the event that moved from Doral this year. “I know that they’ve said it’s a secure spot, and we’re fine, and where we are is good. I just didn’t want to go. A lot of guys don’t want to go to China; I didn’t want to go to Mexico.”

On Sunday, Jason Day announced he would skip the event, however his reason had nothing to do with security. The World No. 2 has a double ear infection and the flu.

Horschel made a run up the leader board on Sunday at PGA National before bogeying the final hole to finish T-4. He probably needed at least a solo second to get into the year's first World Golf Championship. Not that it would have mattered.

“I’ve been to Mexico before, and I love Cancun,” Horschel added. “It’s the first year of the event, and I just want to see how it went. That’s what it really came down to. I want to see how everything was run, I want to see the feedback from the players, and then I’d go from there.”