Billy Horschel not in awe of Augusta National

Here are a sampling of comments this week on Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament.

Tiger Woods: “There’s no other tournament in the world like this. It’s always special.”

Phil Mickelson: “I think driving down Magnolia Lane is rejuvenating. It gives me new energy.”

Bubba Watson: “You’re in awe of this place. If there’s any golf course I want to play, it’s this one.”

Billy Horschel: “It’s got a lot of history and everything, but it’s no different than any other 18-hole golf course.”

Horschel, the PGA Tour’s defending FedEx Cup champion, said he has an approach to golf courses in general that doesn’t dovetail with the sentiment of other players.

“I can see why people get in awe,” he said. “It’s just not my style. Never has been my style.”

Horschel made it clear that he intends no disrespect to the course or the champions that made the Masters the most coveted prize in golf.

“I’ve never been a person to be in awe of anything,” he said. “No sporting spectacle, no athlete ever made me go speechless. People make a big deal out of everything in life and that’s great, but when you really look at it, it’s no different from anything else.”

Horschel said he felt the same in his first Masters appearance, when he tied for 37th at 7-over-par 295.

“I came here last year for the first time and I was never in awe of anything,” he said. “It’s just not me. I don’t get really emotional or speechless. No one is bigger than anything. No course is bigger … than any other course. No person is bigger than anybody else in life. We’re all the same people here.”

That said, Horschel wants to win at Augusta, and he said figuring out the speed of the greens will be crucial. He was second in the field last year in greens in regulation (52 of 72, .772) but was 51st in putts per round (32.75).

“The fast putts are really fast and the slow putts are really slow,” he said. “I struggled last year with the putts that were really slow and it hurt me. I have more of a comfort feeling knowing the speed of the putts.”

Horschel had one bit of praise for the course.

“This course isn’t tricked up in the sense of tee-to-green,” he said. “There are really no blind shots that jump out at you. If you hit a good shot, you get rewarded for a good shot. That’s what I love about this golf course.”