PGA Tour star admits he 'hurt' Rory McIlroy and tries to make it up to golf rival

Billy Horschel knows his play-off win over Rory McIlroy at the BMW PGA Championship will only have compounded the 'hurt' the Northern Irishman was feeling after narrowly missing out on victories at the US Open and Irish Open.

McIlroy started this year brilliantly, winning the Dubai Desert Classic in January and the Wells Fargo Championship in May. Since then, his season has been a tale of near-misses, with a final-round collapse at the US Open preceding a string of agonising results.

Rasmus Hojgaard was the next player to sting McIlroy as he came from way back on the final day of the Irish Open to snatch victory by a single stroke.

Then came Horschel's play-off triumph at Wentworth, and the American is fully aware of how that would have felt for his fellow competitor.

"I knew how much getting edged at the US and the Irish this year hurt him," Horschel told Golf Monthly. "So I could appreciate how he must have felt when my eagle putt went in, just after his own eagle try burned the hole."

Horschel went on to sing McIlroy's praises and call him the standout player of this generation, in terms of temperament as well as talent, to partially make up for getting one over on him at the BMW PGA.

"The way he looked at me and gave me a little smile [after the play-off], and then congratulated me later, meant so much to me," he continued. "I think that just showed he is one of the classiest golfers of this generation, as well as the most talented.

"The first thing to remember is that Rory is the best player of our generation. Absolutely no question about that in my mind. Beating him means you’ve beaten the best of the best. Anyway, over the years we’ve built up a lasting friendship and a mutual respect."

McIlroy followed up his Wentworth heartbreak by posting 14-under and tying for 25th at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The 35-year-old will have been out of action for over a month by the time he returns to the course at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on November 7.

The DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai the following week will offer McIlroy the chance to end 2024 on a high.