PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Fans were lined up on hole Nos. 17 and 18 at TPC Sawgrass on Tuesday to watch PGA Tour players practice for this The Players Championship. While Billy Horschel was finishing his practice round with the last two holes, he had a friend accompany him.
Well, more like a furry friend.
“You don’t see dogs walking inside the ropes of a PGA Tour event ever,” Horschel said.
But Mabel is not just any dog. She’s training to one day be a veteran’s best furry friend.
“The military means a lot to me,” Horschel said. “They allow me to go play golf when the men and women are sacrificing themselves.”
Mabel and the K9s for Warriors team had the chance to walk inside the ropes with Horschel, a Ponte Vedra Beach resident, during Tuesday’s practice round.
“The big benefit of this was getting to see our training in effect,” K9s for Warriors director of procurement and placement Daniel Clavel said. “Getting to see how Mabel would do throughout this. That’s really a testament to what K9s for Warriors is able to do, is train these dogs, get them to this point where they’ll be able to save a life and help a warrior.”
It’s safe to say Mabel got very high marks.
“She did pass the test here,” Clavel said. “So, we’re very excited about that. There was a couple points I was a little worried, but she went through it with flying colors.”
“I have two dogs of my own,” Horschel said. “I know how hard it is just to keep them focused just trying to get them to go out and go to the bathroom, let alone try and train them to sit, to pay attention, to be aware of things out there. She did unbelievable out there and she’s such a great dog.”
Horschel and his wife Brittany started the Horschel Family Foundation last year. K9s for Warriors is one of the organizations their charity works with.
“Billy and Brittany have been supporters of K9s for a number of years,” Horschel Family Foundation executive director Brad Nelson said. “When we were talking to them back in December we felt like this would be a great opportunity to help promote what they’ve been doing, but also the next 1,000 warriors.”
All eyes may have been on Horschel, but it was hard to miss the yellow lab waging her tail in excitement on 18.
“I think Mabel did enjoy it,” Clavel said. “There was a couple times where there was a couple practice swings she didn’t really know what to do with it, but that’s actually a great training opportunity. You know maybe our warrior will be a golfer and now we have that exposure that we need to pair her successfully.”