Sam

Horsfield

Horsfield was born in Manchester but moved to Florida with his parents at the age of five.

That explains why some golf fans struggle to identify the hybrid accent of the Manchester United fan who honed his golf game while attending the University of Florida.

“Gainesville has such a special place in my heart,” Horsfield told A Breed Apart.

“All the great memories you know, getting up at 5:30 for the workouts.

“It felt normal when you’re doing it but then you look back on it and you’re like wow, that was an amazing time.”

Horsfield won the 2013 Florida State Amateur Championship aged just 16, to become the event’s youngest champion in its 96 years of competition.

He qualified for the 2015 US Open as an 18-year-old amateur and in his freshman year with Florida Gators won three tournament titles and was part of Europe’s winning team that lifted the 2016 Arnold Palmer Cup.

A few months after turning professional in 2017, Horsfield earned his place on the European Tour (now DP World Tour) by finishing first at November’s Q-School, eight strokes ahead of runner-up Jacques Kruyswijk.

In his first season on Tour he captured second place at the 2018 Tshwane Open and fourth at the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth.

Horsfield landed his first and second pro wins during an all-conquering August 2020 with regular caddie Mick Seaborn by his side, but no crowds were allowed due to the Covid pandemic lockdown.

His maiden Tour win came at the Hero Open at the Forest of Arden, Birmingham, under pressure from Thomas Detry, who had snatched the lead on the 17th hole after a string of birdies.

Detry then missed a par putt on 18 to drop a shot and bring the scores level, before Horsfield birdied 17 to retake the lead.

That was due largely in part to a brilliant approach shot from the fairway to the green using his favored 5-wood.

“I wasn’t aware of what Thomas had done on 18 until I got to the 17th tee,” said Horsfield.

“I wanted to leave myself a good 5-wood number, that’s my favorite club.

“It was one of the best 5-woods of my life.”

At the 18th, Horsfield went down in par-three to clinch his first pro win by a stroke.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement, Horsfield couldn’t hide his emotions when put in front of a FaceTime link to his mother, grandmother and sister Faye who were watching on at home in Florida.

“My mum has always told me that she hoped she would be the first person I call after I win,” he said.

“When I was talking to [Sky Sport’s] Tim [Barter] by the green I could hear her and my sister celebrating, so it was pretty emotional.”

He followed that up just two weeks later with victory at the lightning-affected Celtic Classic in Newport, Wales.

After a two-hour weather delay Horsfield shot a final round 67 in fading light to win by two strokes, leaving Belgian Detry in the runners-up spot for the second time in 14 days.

Horsfield’s third DP Tour win in May 2022 was emotional on many levels.

Regular bag man Seaborn had to take some time away from golf following the death of his father, leaving Horsfield’s participation at that month’s Soudal Open in doubt.

Taking over the bag in Belgium was an unlikely replacement caddie – girlfriend Issi Byron.

“I stepped in despite everyone thinking it would be a horrendous idea,” Byron told the Majesticks GC YouTube channel.

“Sam’s normal caddie’s father passed away and everyone told Sam just not to bother playing.

“He was like, ‘no, Issi’s going to caddie for me’ and everyone was like, ‘oh, I’m not sure that’s a good idea’.

“We didn’t take it too seriously because I didn’t know what we were doing.”

While the technical knowledge may have been lacking, the moral support obviously worked wonders.

As Horsfield teed off at the 18th he knew a par would win him the trophy, but his drive nestled near some trees.

“We were walking up the 18th and I’d hit it just a little bit left in the rough,” Horsfield said.

“I looked at Issi and said ‘are you nervous?’ and her response was ‘**** yeah!’

“To win like that and to have Issi there, that’ll always have a special place in my heart.”

To remember the occasion, the couple have several photographs from that super Sunday on a bedroom wall of the Orlando home that they share.

That Soudal Open win had propelled Horsfield up to 64th in the official world golf ranking, his highest position, and his career earnings to date on the DP World Tour amount to a little over £3.4million.

It was assumed that his early involvement with LIV Golf may have had something to do with friend and mentor Ian Poulter, coupled with the fact that they share the same agency and management, but it was more a case of fortuitous timing.

“It was a thing I was interested in before I knew Ian was going over to LIV,” Horsfield said to National Club Golfer after qualifying for last year’s Open at Troon.

“I remember meeting with them [LIV] beforehand and I was very interested, and then the opportunity came up with Ian, and then the other boys followed suit.

“I always thought it was a great opportunity for me and for my career to be able to play with some of the best players in the world week in, week out, testing my game to see what it’s like.

“I enjoy the competition; I enjoy the challenge.

“The European Tour [DP World Tour] was a great spot for me, but I felt like it was time for a change and with LIV coming up, I had the opportunity and here we are.”

True to form, Horsfield hit the ground running, taking fifth place on his LIV Golf debut in the inaugural London event in June 2022, earning $975,000 prize money on his very first outing.

Horsfield’s 2023 season was blighted by a hip injury that required surgery, leaving him out of action for several months.

At the fourth event of the year, LIV Golf Adelaide in April, he realised just how bad his niggling hip injury had become.

“I actually knew that I was gonna have to get surgery on my hip at some point,” Horsfield said.

“On the second day I hit a 3-wood from the middle of the fairway and said to Mick [Seaborn] my caddie, that’s it.”

It really hit home when Chase Koepka hit a hole-in-one at the 12th hole on the final day and Horsfield attempted to join in the celebrations.

“It was just a natural reaction to go crazy,” he said, “and then I saw the video of me literally on one leg hopping down there.

“I was like, ‘oh my God what an idiot’.”

After surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip, it took five months of hard work and dedication to get recuperated, revitalised and back out on the course again.

Horsfield returned to action for September’s event in Chicago, where he finished a creditable 15th.

Despite being wiped out from eight of the 13 events in the 2023 LIV Golf Series, Horsfield was placed 40th in the end of season player standings.

In a regular season, that would still have been high enough to retain his LIV status for 2024, but he had already been guaranteed his position due to an injury exemption.

His best return in 2024 was second place in Nashville in June and by sitting 31st in the overall standings, it allowed Majesticks to keep hold of their rising star for 2025.

Prior to his hip problem Horsfield had damaged the facet joint in his back in 2020 after hitting a tree root while playing on the European Tour.

He has a very athletic approach and is blessed with being a strong rotary player, with good shoulder turn.

He follows this up by standing tall while continuing to rotate and allows a full release of the club with his right arm.

Following hip surgery, he believed that it benefitted his swing as his lower body felt more fluid.

“My body is moving way differently,” he said.

“I can actually load and turn my right hip instead of bumping it."

Ahead of last year’s Open at Royal Troon, Sam Horsfield revealed that he’s more of a woods fan, than irons.

“I love my 5-wood, it’s one of my favorite clubs in my bag,” he said.

“On a normal week, I always travel with 15 clubs, I take a 7-wood with me.

“A couple of times this year already it’s replaced the 4-iron, where you need to hit it up a little bit more.”

Horsfield took his third DP Tour title in May 2022 at the Soudal Open in Belgium, with girlfriend Issi Byron on bag duty.

His driver was a TaylorMade Stealth Plus (8-degree) with a Mitsubishi Kai’li 60 TC shaft.

Fairway Woods were TaylorMade M6 (3-wood 15-degree, five-wood, 18 degree) with Accra TZ5 M5 Proto shafts.

Trust was put in a couple of 4-irons rather than a 7-wood, with a TaylorMade P7MC and a Srixon ZX5, both with True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 shafts.

His regular set of irons were TaylorMade P7TW (5 to PW) again with True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 shafts.

There was a brand change with the wedges. A pair of Titleist Vokey Design SM9 wedges (50-degree 08F, 56-degree 10S) and a Titleist Vokey 2022 Prototype (60-degree T) all with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts.

His putter was a Bettinardi Hexperimental INOVAI 8.0 Prototype and his ball of choice was the ever-popular Titleist Pro V1x.