“Very superstitious”: Billy Horschel responds to Ernie Els claiming there’s only 1 birdie in a golf ball

Billy Horschel recently responded to Ernie Els explaining his habit of changing golf balls after every birdie he scores. The veteran golfer, with 80 professional wins in his career, revealed this in an interview last year.

Horschel reacted to the short clip of Els posted by the PGA Tour Champions on X (previously Twitter) on September 13, 2024. He reposted the tweet and talked about his own habit while he plays in the field. According to Horschel, he does not switch his balls like Ernie does however, he switches only after a bogie. Billy Horschel wrote in the tweet:

"On the flip side, I rarely use an entire sleeve of balls during a round. If I haven’t made a bogey, I’m not switching balls. Moral of the story. Golfers are very superstitious and have weird habits."

Ernie Els is also known as Big Easy in the sport for his physical stature and the nature of his golf swing. The South African pro golfer is one of the six golfers in the world who managed to win both the U.S. Open and the Open Championship twice. On January 18, 2025, he won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, finishing 18 under par.

Billy Horschel is currently competing in the 2025 season of the PGA Tour. On January 19, 2025, he tied for the 14th place on the leaderboard of The American Express. At the PGA WEST Pete Dye Stadium Course, he finished 15 under par. He missed the cut at The Sony Open in Hawaii and ranked 51st on the leaderboard of The Sentry, 2025.

How did Billy Horschel perform in the 2024 PGA Tour?

Billy Horschel during the final round of The American Express - Source: Imagn

The pro golfer from the United States of America ranks 18th on the Official World Golf Rankings leaderboard. Last year, he won the BMW PGA Championship by defeating Rory McIlroy on the 2nd playoff hole.

Billy Horschel finished off at the 2024 BMW PGA Championship with an overall score of 67-69-65-67, finishing 20 under par. From the 2024 PGA Tour, Horschel earned a massive paycheck of $40,357,207 through tournaments. Last year, he made it to the PGA Tour's top 10 list seven times, won once, and became runner-up once.

Here's a complete look at the performance of Billy Horschel in the 2024 PGA Tour:

• Sony Open in Hawaii, T18, 68-68-68-65, 269 (-11)
• The American Express, Missed The Cut
• Farmers Insurance Open, Missed The Cut
• WM Phoenix Open, 72-67-66-73, T41, 278 (-6)
• Cognizant Classic, T9, 66-71-69-66, 272 (-12)
• THE PLAYERS Championship, Missed The Cut
• Valspar Championship, T12, 69-72-71-67, 279 (-5)
• Texas Children's Houston Open, T7, 71-68-67-64, 270 (-10)
• Valero Texas Open, Missed The Cut
• Corales Puntacana Championship, WON, 67-69-66-63, 265 (-23)
• Wells Fargo Championship, T52, 76-72-72-72, 292 (+8)
• PGA Championship, T8, 69-69-69-64, 271 (-13)
• Charles Schwab Challenge, T24, 69-71-67-72, 279 (-1)
• the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, T15, 69-74-76-71, 290 (+2)
• U.S. Open, T41, 73-67-74-74, 288 (+8)
• Travelers Championship, T55, 72-67-70-67, 276 (-4)
• Genesis Scottish Open, Missed The Cut
• The Open, T2, 72-68-69-68, 277 (-7)
• Wyndham Championship, T7, 62-68-71-67, 268 (-12)
• FedEx St. Jude Championship, T10, 68-65-70-67, 270 (-10)
• BMW Championship, T22, 71-74-68-71, 284 (-4)
• TOUR Championship, T23, 73-69-71-66, 279 (-6)