Horschel enjoying fatherhood, status as FedExCup champ

Billy Horschel has usually been in a hurry, anxious to finish whatever task is at hand and regularly in a rush to see what results lie ahead. He talks fast, walks fast, swings fast.

But with his accelerator typically revved to its limit, Horschel has often run himself away from his best form on the golf course and rarely has taken the time to accept mistakes, refusing to let them linger.

A bundle of joy named Skylar Lillian, however, has changed the man whose motor was rarely in idle.

"The big thing that has changed has been patience. I'm getting more of it," Horschel said of becoming a father for the first time. He and wife Brittany welcomed Skylar to the world on Sept. 16. "I'm not always on my schedule anymore. Sometimes she's going to cry, sometimes you're going to have to walk her around for 45 minutes to calm her down. I'm on her schedule and that's where I want to be.

"And I think that will translate to my golf. I will have a little more patience on the golf course. I know there is something bigger and more important in life than golf. She has to rely on me and my wife to live every day.

"I love that responsibility. I love being a daddy."

Not that he's complaining, but his daughter consumed most of his offseason, albeit one that lasted just four weeks. He wasn't able to celebrate to the fullest his rush to the FedExCup title that netted his bank account nearly $14 million.

With a tie for second in the Deutsche Bank Championship and wins in the BMW Championship and The Tour Championship by Coca-Cola in successive weeks, Horschel won millions, bumped his career wins total to three and stamped himself a major force heading into the 2014-15 wraparound season.

He begins the new season Thursday in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. While he has spent more time changing diapers than hitting wedges, Horschel said it was the best offseason of his career.

"As much as I wanted to sit back and enjoy what I did at the end of the season, at the same time I'm not one to look back and cherish stuff. I'm always thinking about the next level," Horschel, 27, said. "For two weeks, after Skylar was born, I was all into that. I thought I'd have a week to grasp everything that happened and sit back and enjoy it. Then, boom, boom, we were headed to the hospital. I was so focused on the birth of Skylar and being there for her and Brittany, I sort of forget what I had done."

But as he ventured out of the house, reminders in the form of congratulations from people at restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores jolted his memory.

"People would want to talk about golf and then it hit me again," he said. "It was a pretty amazing 48 hours, to win the FedExCup and become a dad."

As he got ready for the new season, he looked back and determined what turned his 2013-14 season around. For one, he started putting better. He also took advantage of a new driver, a Ping G30 model, he started using at the PGA Championship that pumped up his distance, shortened his approach shots and increased his aggression at certain pins.

And just as importantly, he knew he had been easier on himself in the last portion of the season.

"That has always been a problem for me but I was able to start getting over a mistake, a bad shot, and move on," Horschel said.

Yes, Horschel is a changed man. But he insisted his recent success won't push him into making drastic changes to his swing in search of more consistent results in the game's biggest events.

"I know the player I was before the playoffs," he said. "I'm not trying to put bigger expectations on myself. I don't have to change anything to play at another level because I've played at that level.

"I'll just keep trying to make little improvements."

Thanks to Skylar Lillian Horschel, he's already made one major improvement.