Billy Horschel recalls signature TGL moment, gears up for Season 2

• Atlanta Drive won the inaugural TGL championship, a tech-infused golf league co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
• Horschel is returning for the second season after recovering from hip surgery in May.

Billy Horschel had one of those "oh no" feelings as he started celebrating what would become the signature moment of TGL's inaugural season.

Horschel's 18-foot putt on No. 14 during the second match of Atlanta Drive's championship series against New York Golf Club was about 2-feet from the hole when he decided the party had started.

Then, with his back to the flagstick, the worst possible outcome ran through Horschel's mind.

"Did I just miss this putt?" he thought.

"I didn't see it go in," Horschel said a few weeks before the start of TGL's second season. "I just figured it was going in the hole. And I'm like, well, I'm just going to continue to celebrate and this is either going to be a really great moment, or this is going to be a really dumb moment that's going to go viral."

Turned out be the former. Horschel's putt set off a wild scene between himself and Atlanta teammates Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay. Atlanta then clinched the title on the 15th and final hole, bringing an end to the debut season of the tech-infused, indoor golf league co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

TGL season opens with finals rematch between Atlanta and New York

Season 2 of TGL opens at 3 p.m. Dec 28 with a rematch of that best-of-3 final series Atlanta won 2-0. The match, the first on a Sunday, is TGL's first to go head-to-head with the NFL.

The league is coming off a successful first season and rolls out the same six teams and 24 players as last season while making changes it hopes enhances the player and fan experiences.

"I had hoped it was going to be successful. I had hoped that people would enjoy it and see what we were trying to do. I had hoped that it was going to be somewhat of a commercial feeling success. And obviously all those things I had hoped for came true and more," said Horschel, who was at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens about two weeks before the opener.

"To see how many people were asking about TGL, whether it be a player, whether it be a random fan that I met at Chipotle or a grocery store or in the airport. People were always asking about TGL and they continue to ask."

Atlanta will be without Thomas, who will miss most of the season after undergoing a microdiscectomy. That means it will have to pull from a bullpen of reserves if either Horschel, Cantlay or Lucas Glover are unable to play one of its five matches.

New York's roster includes Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick.

Horschel says entertaining a vital part of TGL success

That final match was the league in a nutshell. Few golfers are as engaging and sociable as Horschel. But that does not mean he is any less competitive.

The man who made his TGL debut doing the Dirty Bird, a dance popularized by the Atlanta Falcons in 1998, and wearing a "DIRTY BIRDS" chain during introductions, ended it by jumping around the green with arms spread, tossing his putter and hat, giving Thomas a chest bump and asking the fans to pump up the noise.

"When us as players got comfortable with the product and how we were going to move TGL forward and make it work, and then once the fans caught on and understand what this was all about and saw that we were taking this seriously, they bought in as well," Horschel said.

"The competition will come out. But entertaining is a vital part of TGL success."

Horschel said the celebration was genuine and spontaneous. He has two indelible moments. One of him and Thomas, who was bent over with hands on knees watching Horschel's putt roll, both stepping to the right as it's about to drop and both pumping their fists simultaneously. The other a photo of a normally stoic Cantlay standing next to New York opponents Fowler and Schauffele, with arms raised.

"That showed how much it meant to him," Horschel said. "Patrick is a great guy and he's very hard to sort of get him to buy into things at times. And I think that showed that he bought into TGL, the Atlanta Drive. He wanted to win. And that picture is one of the moments that will always live in my memory."

Horschel ready for TGL Season 2 after hip surgery

Horschel has recovered in time for Season 2 after having hip surgery in May, an injury that showed no symptoms before he awoke after the final round of the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head in mid April to a sharp pain that made it hard to walk.

Horschel, 39, could have continued to play after the pain subsided but was told it would reoccur. So despite a solid start to the season, one in which he believed he could have won his first major championship and played on his first Ryder Cup team, he opted to get it fixed.

"I've always been two things," he said. "I've been that whenever there's something that needs to be taken care of, I want to take care of it right then and there. I don't want to put it on the back burner.

"I've always been a believer things happen for a reason. Whether it be good things or bad things. And when bad things happen or unfortunate situations happen, I always believe there's something better on the other side."

Horschel returned to competitive golf in October and has played four fall events, overcoming the expected tightness he said will linger for awhile.

"It sucks to have to deal with any injury but at the same time, it was really cool to be around my kids and my wife for six months and not have to think about having to go practice every day and miss out on stuff," he said. "Being able to do some things that I haven't been able to do for a long time, or never really, was really cool.

"I love my life without golf. I can say, I'm not afraid of it. Life on the other side is really good."