West Ham United is to sign N’Golo Kanté from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad. They will be paying a whopping $20 million for the 33-year-old. Well, fans are not very happy about the decision. “I don’t think that’s really good business so I don’t think that’s going to happen,” said Billy Horschel when he heard the news. Despite his dislike of the news, it does not change his love for the team.

The PGA Tour Pro has been a fan of the English soccer club through and through. He has been spotted several times with a bag that represents his love for West Ham on the course. Billy Horschel has a claret and blue West Ham-themed bag with the Hammers crest. It also features the renowned golden irons displayed prominently on the side.

“Whenever I come here I try to get the West Ham bag out. Up the Hammers and come on you Irons,” he confessed at the Friday post-round presser in Scotland. But what makes Horschel such a huge fan of the team?

In 2021, at the Open Championship held at Royal St. George’s Golf Course, that’s where Billy Horschel spoke about his love for the Stratford-based team. It turns out that this connection goes back to his college days. When Horschel was a sophomore at the University of Florida, back in 2006, the Ponte Vedra Beach resident shifted to a new apartment. He had no cable for a couple of days while he completed the process of shifting. It was then that he went to a nearby DVD shop called Best Buy.

One of them was Elijah Wood’s Green Street. It was the 2005 crime drama that made 37-year-old Billy Horschel a die-hard fan of the club. “Since about 10-12 years ago I’ve been paying close attention to them since NBC Sports starting showing Premier League games, so I’m always watching their matches and any Premier Leagues actually,” revealed Billy Horschel.

Being a fan of an English club and not a fan of the Premier League? Well, that’s impossible, and Horschel would surely agree! The American golfer is an avid fan of soccer, especially the Premier League. The PGA Tour pro has often come forward to show his love for the game and The Irons.

When did Billy Horschel talk publicly about being a West Ham supporter?

During his college years, the Premier League was not broadcast regularly anywhere in America. However, that changed in 2012 with the broadcasting rights for the EPL. So, Billy Horschel got the opportunity to watch the games regularly. He would follow the team closely, but he never spoke about how big a fan he was. Until the time he won the WGC Dell Match Play in Austin, where he defeated Scottie Scheffler in the final.

That was when he even received a text message from the former captain of the West Ham team, Mark Noble, and was also serenaded for the first time during a tournament. He was also appreciated by his fans, who came for autographs. “Hey Billy, we love you. We love that you’re supporting an English football club, we may be a Tottenham fan or we’re an Arsenal fans, or we support Man United,” they would say. Billy Horschel, being a fan of the Hammers surely resonated with the masses!