A day after criticizing the overseeding of the PGA National Resort, Billy Horschel found himself in a verbal altercation with a heckling crowd at the Cognizant Classic. During the second round at the course, fans sledged him with remarks about “overseeding.”

On Friday, February 27, Billy Horschel carded a 2-over 73 in the second round of the Cognizant Classic 2026. On the par-3 15th hole, a fan gave him an earful after his shot landed in the water. Horschel, who doesn’t shy away from expressing himself, hit back at the crowd.

“Who said that? I mean, I guess you guys feel good about yourself with a comment like that, don’t ya?” he responded.

Here’s the clip:

Eventually, Horschel ended up making a triple bogey and finished with two more bogeys to shoot 2-over for the day. The fan was later kicked out of the PGA National Resort on disciplinary grounds.

Earlier, Billy Horschel had criticized the overseeding of the PGA National Resort and blamed it for the increase in winning scores over the last few years.

“I think when you look at the data, and I can pull it up on my phone, in ’20, ’21, ’22, there were three times in a row where it was a top-10 hardest golf course,” he said on Thursday. “I think it was like 4, 7, 6. Then it went to 12, and then the last two years it’s been in the 30s.”

Billy Horschel reflects on the altercation at the Cognizant Classic

During his post-round interview, Billy Horschel revealed that the fans were consistently sledging him with the word “overseed,” and it wasn’t the first incident of the day. He further said that one fan blamed him for disrespecting the course, which he labelled as being far from the truth.

“He had a few words to say,” he added. “He wanted to share what his thoughts were, and I just said to him, I said. Read the entire quotes from the last couple years. I’ve enjoyed this golf course. When it’s benign, it’s gettable. When it’s the way it is the last two days with the wind blowing, it’s a challenge.”

“I wanted to make sure I informed him on that. I said, Maybe you should be more informed of the situation, and that was it. I walked back to the drop area, I hit a shot and walked off with a 6. There was no more — nothing said,” he continued.

The eight-time PGA Tour champion insisted that everyone has the right to express themselves, but wanted fans to respect the play and not disturb players while they are in the game.

Horschel is currently sitting at even par following the second round of the Cognizant Classic, as he narrowly escaped the cutline by just finishing inside. He will be looking to make up for it over the remaining two days.