Billy Horschel calls for letting LIV Golfers compete at The Players Championship - “Shouldn’t we maybe let them in?”

Amid the raging debate on letting LIV Golfers compete in the PGA Tour, Billy Horschel has come out to call for letting them play The Players Championship. The 7x PGA Tour winner said that players who defected to the Saudi-backed series must be given a shot in the competition often referred to as the “fifth Major.”

Horschel claimed that he even had a conversation with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan about letting LIV stars play in The Players. He claimed that the circuit should “maybe let them in.” The 37-year-old golfer noted that “some of the best players in the world” were currently in the breakaway Tour and they should be let to compete in the prestigious competition held at TPC Sawgrass.

Calling to re-check LIV Golfers’ eligibility at The Players Championship, Billy Horschel said, as quoted by Sky Sports:

“It’s unfortunate that we don’t have some of the best players in the world here… I did have a conversation with Jay about a year and a half ago about if the majors were going to let the guys that went to LIV, shouldn’t we maybe let them in?

If we see ourselves as a fifth Major, which I believe we are, shouldn’t we, maybe put out a little bit of olive branch? We had a great conversation about that and I understood his side of it and the PGA Tour side, but I think personally it’s tough to say that we don’t have all the best players in the world here.”

Horschel reiterated that the LIV Golf League has “some of the best players in the world.” He called on to “take out the world rankings” and pick the top players backed “by the eyeballs test.”

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The Players Championship 2024 field

It is pertinent to note that The Players Championship, being held at the TPC Sawgrass (THE PLAYERS Stadium Course), features a 144-player field. The event, set to tee off on Thursday, March 14 is often referred to as golf's unofficial fifth major. Despite being a non-major event, the event has one of the best fields of the PGA Tour 2024 schedule.

For the unversed, The Players Championship 2024 will feature 46 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking among the top contenders. World No. 1 and reigning champion Scottie Scheffler and No.2-ranked Rory McIlroy headline the event’s field. Players like World No.4 Viktor Hovland, No.5 Wyndham Clark, No.6 Xander Schauffele, No.7 Patrick Cantlay, No.8 Max Homa, No.9 Brian Harman and No.10 Ludvig Åberg will all tee off at the event.

However, the event will not have any LIV players competing. Players like Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Tyrrell Hatton and Dustin Johnson will sit out of the competition despite being high-ranked. The players remain banned from entering PGA Tour tournaments due to their LIV Golf association.