PALM BEACH GARDENS — These were the glory days of Honda Classic, which was as electrifying and worthy of the national stage than any other major on the PGA Tour.
Let’s take 2012. Take 2012. Since Tiger was 21 years old, Tiger is No. 1.
2014 was the next step. Then there was 2014.
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This brings us to 2023. A tournament that is having difficulty attracting a top-ranked field, a trend that began about four years ago, could (and should!) be supported by the PGA Tour. The nuances of the schedule give the PGA Tour an opportunity to help in 2024.
Palm Beach Post: PGA Tour reduces the number of title sponsors for Honda Classic, reducing it from 40-50 to five
Next year, the Honda Classic will be rebranded with Honda Motors ending its 42 years as title sponsor. What better way to show the PGA Tour that it cares about the future of the event than by ensuring that Honda is no longer treated like an alternative event by a new sponsor? The Tour should do this for a tournament that has been successful in every other way.
Despite the fact that most top-ranked golfers have opted to skip Honda in recent years, due to its position in the schedule, attendance has remained steady and local charities continue to receive record donations. This is all thanks to Andrew George, the Executive Director, and Ken Kennerly, his predecessor.
George stated, “There are a lot things we can’t control.” “But we can control what we do here, and make sure that we continue to be a community event. That’s not going away. It will only get better.
However, spectators want to see marquee names. This is especially true for those they might run into at local coffee shops. Honda is one of a few tournaments that the Tour has pushed to the back when it comes down to the schedule. Many golfers have found this excuse to be valid when major events such as the Phoenix Open and Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, Players Championship, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational surround one event. The Tour will not allow you to play for five weeks consecutively, which is what most golfers prefer.
It was not easy to understand, however. In any given year, approximately half of the top 20 players in golf lived within a 10-mile radius from PGA National. Very few people have ever made the 20-to 30-minute drive west to PGA Boulevard.
The Tour must now act to help Honda in 2024, and beyond, just like it did in 2023.
It seems that all indications point in this direction.
Honda could get some relief through the schedule
Andy Pazder is the chief competitions and tournaments officers for the PGA Tour. He praised Honda’s history as well as the hard work Jack Nicklaus and Barbara Nicklaus put into the event that made it such a success off the course. He stated that the Tour will look at events that have been unsuccessful and put them in “position” to succeed in the long term.
Pazder stated, “What you would like to see next year and beyond would be for the event to be in a place where it’s not isolated.”
Pazder and his staff are seeking ways to reduce the number of high-profile Honda events. Honda was in this position when the Tour designated four Honda events as being elevated with purses at least $20 million. Honda’s purse totals $8.4 Million.
Honda is next to the Genesis Invitational, Phoenix Open, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The Players Championship follows. All received elevated status in 2022. Only the top 20 players from the 2022 Player Impact program are allowed to participate in the elevated events. They can skip any of the events during the year.
Kennerly stated that Honda’s place on the schedule was not something they want. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t do anyone any good.”
This year Honda’s field includes four of the top 30 world ranking golfers. It would be the fewest Honda has hosted in over a decade. The top 10 golfers will not be playing for the third year in succession. Honda accounted for four of the top 10 players between 2013 and 2018. From 2013 to 2018, Honda averaged four of the top 10. 3 Brooks Koepka in 2020.
Cool, heartwarming stories are the ones that see champions such as Keith Mitchell (2019), Sepp Straka (2022), and Keith Mitchell (202019) win their first PGA Tour victory, or Matt Jones (2021) lift a trophy for only seven years. However, that is nothing compared to McIlroy, Rickie Fowler (2016), Justin Thomas (2018) and Rickie Thomas (2018) celebrating on the 18th hole.
Those who play on the LIV Golf Tour are not under Honda’s control. Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen were the top 50 golfers in Honda’s field a year ago. Joaquin Niemann and Patrick Reed were also among the top 50. Matthew Wolff, Lee Westwood, Patrick Reed and Matthew Wolff have all joined LIV since then and are now banned from participating in PGA Tour events.
The Tour is exploring different options to improve the field. The calendar will provide an extra week of time before the Masters, which could be the solution to the problem in the next three years.
It would be best for the Tour to seperate Honda, which begins the Florida Swing from the Genesis Invitational which ends the West Coast Swing. This would allow golfers the opportunity to play Honda and other high-level events in Honda without needing to tee up for five consecutive weeks.
George stated, “I believe the extra week to this is important.” This is the most difficult stretch of golf. They are focused on this and seperating (those elevated events). We will benefit from the extra week.”
Pazder said, “It gives me a little more flexibility next year.”
Sungjae Im (No. Sungjae Im (No. 19), Billy Horschel (19), and Shane Lowry (22) were the top-ranked golfers this year. Horschel is a native Floridaan and a graduate of the University of Florida. He wants all Florida events to succeed. That’s not a problem for API and The Players.
Horschel stated, “Not just me,” but there are many other guys who live in the Jupiter region. Many of these guys have played in the Honda Classic before. It’s always nice when you can play in a tournament while still sleeping in your own bed.
“Guys from that area would love it, even if it were in a different spot.”
McIlroy lives in Jupiter and Thomas now resides at Tequesta. McIlroy and Thomas have both won the tournament. Thomas has not entered Honda since 2019. LIV Golf’s Jupiter’s Dustin Johnson has stayed away from the Champion Course since years. He has played Honda three times. The last time was in 2015.
Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland, plays his second shot at the par 4 ninth hole from a difficult stance on a bunker’s edge during round two of the 2018 Honda Classic on The Champions Course of PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens on February 23, 2018. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images).
Sponsors should commit to bigger purses
The Tour is reviewing how it labels events as elevated. While some events will offer $20 million in prize money, others may not. One could be included in a rotation. All will likely be given the opportunity to be named at different times. It will be up the title sponsor to decide whether they are willing to invest.
Sponsors and the Tour share the extra money for tournaments worth $20 million.
Pazder stated that there are “some who are very happy with the current state of their event,” They are happy in their field and they are happy with the event’s financial performance, which generates significant charitable dollars.
“Any discussion around (Honda’s) designation as an event would require a conversation with the new title sponsors.”
The Tour is currently working on a 2024 schedule, and the naming a new title sponsor is likely to be months away. This means that the earliest Honda could be considered as an elevated event status.
This month’s illustration showed the difference between the fields surrounding elevated events. Three of the 25 top places in the world were held by the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. This is a non-elevated event. The Phoenix Open and Genesis Invitational were the two higher-ranked events that followed. They had 22 and 23 respectively.
Honda will have three.
Despite the fact that the tournament has been focusing on underwhelming fields, it has not impacted its popularity or charitable reach. Honda is actually thriving, with Honda’s attendance continuing to rise, charitable donations reaching a record $6.45million from the 2022 tournament, and the largest buildout in tournament history with more than 300,000.00 square feet of hospitality suites and public seating.
The PGA Tour awarded the Honda Classic the Most Fan-First Event in 2014 and 2019. This award is given to events that offer affordable tickets, transportation accessibility, food options, and social media activation.
George is aware that tournaments are judged by the strength and popularity of the field. He hopes the momentum will shift in his favor next year.
George stated that potential title sponsors could include companies that “want the best player field”.
“The PGA Tour told us that they want every event to have the chance to attract the players they want. We’re starting to see that there is a lot of momentum toward that goal, even though we aren’t elevated at the start, because we’re speaking alongside them for title sponsorship.
