More than a decade ago, Billy Horschel made his caddie a promise that sounded almost impossible at the time. If they somehow won the FedExCup, Micah Fugitt would walk away with a $1 million bonus. Fugitt laughed it off. Winning one of golf’s richest prizes felt like a distant dream. A year later, Horschel made good on his word. 

That promise became the foundation of a partnership that lasted through FedExCup glory, eight PGA Tour victories, a split in 2017, and even a reunion six years later. It was the kind of relationship Horschel rarely seemed eager to walk away from. But this season has looked different. Fugitt was gone again in May, James Edmondson stepped in on a trial basis, Horschel’s brother-in-law Brad Nelson carried the bag for two starts, and by the time the Tour reached the Wyndham Championship, another familiar figure had taken over.

Golfweek writer Adam Schupak reported that Billy Horschel has committed to working with Gareth Lord. It’s less a new pairing than a reunion, the duo had already spent the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open Championship together last month before making it official at Sedgefield.

Lord has previously worked with Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose. He was their caddie when they won the 2016 Open Championship and the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open, respectively. As someone who himself played golf at the collegiate level at Tennessee Chattanooga and has worked with many elite pros, Lord brings a lot of credibility with him.

This move comes after regular caddie switches Horschel has had since splitting with Micah Fugitt. Horschel and Fugitt started working together in August 2011. Like with Lord, the American professional had hired Fugitt on a temporary basis before engaging him for the long term.

They split in 2017 but came back together in 2023. But then, they split again in May of this year. It’s worth being precise about how that split was actually described, because it wasn’t framed as a falling-out. When Schupak asked Horschel about arriving at the Memorial Tournament without Fugitt, Horschel’s answer was measured, he called it a break rather than an ending, and left the door open to working together again down the line.

He never criticized Fugitt or suggested any breakdown in trust, and that tone lines up with how Horschel has talked about the partnership before. After his 2024 Corales Puntacana Championship win, he credited Fugitt for staying positive through rough stretches and reflected on why player-caddie relationships evolve at all: “As humans, we grow, we change what we need, we change what we want.”

Later, Horschel hired James Edmondson to carry his bag on a trial basis at the Memorial Tournament. At the time, the American professional had hinted of working again with Fugitt. But it seems things didn’t work out between the two, as the pro golfer then brought his brother-in-law, Brad Nelson, on the bag for the 3M Open and the Rocket Classic.

We cannot say that it was certainly Lord’s magic, but Billy Horschel did start the Wyndham Championship on a positive note. He carded an opening round of five-under 65. The round featured four birdies, a bogey, and an eagle on the par-five 15th. He started the 15th with a 315-yard drive that landed on the fairway and followed it with a 212-yard approach shot to reach the green. From there, he holed a 45-foot eagle putt.

This positive momentum comes at a crucial time. Throughout the 2026 season, Horschel managed to make the cut in only 13 of the 23 starts he had before the Wyndham Championship. His best finish among those came at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he carded 27-under 261. This got him to 79th in the FedExCup rankings, but he has only plummeted since then.

Currently, he ranks 107th, which means his chances of qualifying for the Playoffs are slim. However, there’s something even more important he might be worried about. The PGA Tour has shifted the full-exemption benchmark to the top 100 in FedExCup points through the FedExCup Fall. Players finishing in the 101 to 125 positions will receive conditional status.

While Billy Horschel still has the FedExCup Fall events left to worry about, he would want to start solidifying his position with this event. Instead of leaving things hanging until the last moment, it is best for him to act sooner, especially considering his injury, which he said was worse than he had previously disclosed.

Billy Horschel opens up about recovery from hip injury

Speaking after his opening round 65, Billy Horschel opened up about the hip injury that sidelined him from competitive golf for six months last year. He missed three majors, lost his Ryder Cup hopes, and couldn’t play the FedExCup playoffs.

When announcing that he was undergoing surgery for hip issues, he told everyone that it was a precautionary measure. Then, when he returned to play competitive golf, he told everyone the pain was gone. But he has been more vocal about the difficulties and the pain this year. Speaking ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he said that his hip was tired and sore. He even said that the two micro-fractures he had would take one or two more years to heal completely.

Speaking about it today, he said, “It was just more damage in there, just more damage. The labrum tear was bigger, the hip impingement had to be fixed, I had two microfractures that take a year, two years to fully heal. There was a lot more to when they got in there than the scans showed. All that means is it just takes more time to heal.”

That’s exactly why Billy Horschel would not want to take things slow now if he wants to keep his fully exempt status rather than end up with a conditional status. The latest caddie switch could help him achieve this.