Padraig Harrington Wins The 2015 Honda Classic

We said earlier last week that a win at the Honda Classic at PGA National wasn't going to be easy and boy it sure wasn't...

After several weather delays, postponed tee times, a Monday finish, and two holes of sudden death, a winner has finally emerged; Irishman Padraig Harrington. Both him and PGA Tour newcomer Daniel Berger were tied at 6 under after 72 holes and had to replay the 18th and 17th; the former saw Berger place his tee shot in the water and a solid par from Harrington. The two finish with a one shot lead over Paul Casey, Russell Knox, and Ian Poulter, who was the 54 hole leader, but shot a 74 on Monday which included several balls landing in the water. The cut was set at +4.

For Padraig, this win was huge. This is the 43-year old's first PGA tour win since his win of the 2008 PGA Tour Championship; almost 2,400 days! To put things in perspective, Padraig's last three wins were the 2007, 2008 British Open and the 2008 PGA Championship. 2008 was the pinnacle of the Irishman's career and after winning back to back majors and the same major in consecutive years, we all expected him to keep on winning.

Unfortunately this didn't happen. A few swing changes and a case of the yips saw his game fall dramatically, as well as his earnings. At his lowest, he was ranked 353rd on the World Golf Rankings (late 2014) and things weren't looking good for him. But with some perseverance and hard work, he managed to pull of the win this week, which changes everything for him now. He doesn't have to rely on sponsor exemptions for a few years, gets to play in this year's Masters, and is currently ranked 82nd on the rankings now.

With some similar perseverance, Daniel Berger was en-route to making a some history. The 2014 Web.com Tour graduate started his final round nine shots behind the leader, but shot an excellent 64 to get himself into the playoff. If he won the playoff, it would have been one of the biggest comebacks in PGA Tour history. This is Berger's 4th top-10 finish this season; very impressive!

Probably just as big a story was that of Ian Poulter's meltdown during his final round. Poulter lead by three shots going into his final round. On a few holes, he shanked a few balls into the water, which resulted in a bogey, two double bogeys, and a very bad triple (which was on the verge of a +4 if it wasn't for a good putt by Ian). However, two late birdies were not enough to put him in the playoff, as he ended up one shot short of it, shooting a 74 on the day.

Finally, here is how our picks finished the tournament:

1) Rory McIlroy: CUT
2) Dustin Johnson: CUT
3) Graeme McDowell: CUT

Wow, a very bad week for my picks all of which who had pretty bad rounds in tough weather conditions. That's too bad, better luck next week!

And that wraps up a hectic week! The Honda Classic is a tournament that will never be dull; there will always be several story-lines and some exciting golf, as we saw this week. Stay tuned for coverage of the WGC Cadillac Championship from Doral, Florida.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Padraig Harrington Wins the 2015 Honda Classic

2015 Honda Classic - Weekend Update

It's been an interesting few days at the 2015 Honda Classic, but unfortunately the weekday rounds have not concluded yet. The main headline today was the bad weather, which suspended play for a total of four hours, so a good portion of the field hasn't finished their second round.  As it stands now though, Brenden Steele is the leader with a score of 8-under (-8) and a two shot lead over a looming Patrick Reed. Steele shot an impressive 6-under Thursday and only completed four holes today, making birdies on all of them. The cut is also lingering around the +4 mark.

There were a total of three delays today. The first was at 8:23 this morning and was due to heavy rain. After about two hours, play resumed only to be called off 20 minutes later due to nearby lightning. Play resumed for the final time at about 12:30 and was then called off at sundown due to darkness.

Considering Thursday's round, PGA National did play tough. The low round may have been a 65, but the 19 players out of 144 who were under par weren't in a bad place. The field scoring average was a 72.28 but peaked to nearly 74 during the afternoon. Crosswinds were much to blame for this high scores, along with the difficulty of the course.

Aside from the weather, the biggest headline of the week was how everyone's favourite going into the tournament, Rory McIlroy, has been playing. Rory sits at 7-over and is likely to miss the cut this week. This will be the first cut Rory's missed since the 2014 Irish Open and this has some critics already speculating about what his play will be like at the upcoming Masters. Personally, Rory's human after all, so he's entitled to a bad week once and a while. I wouldn't think too much of it. 

Another story going around is that of Patrick Reed, who carded a total of 12 birdies (the most of any player) so far resulting in back to back 67's on days when shooting under par was considered good. His combined score on the first nine of both his rounds is a 6-under.

Finally, here is how our picks are doing,

1) Rory McIlroy: T103 at 7-over (+7)
2) Dustin Johnson: T135 at 12-over (+12)
3) Graeme McDowell: T85 at 5-over (+5)

Not good at all, but it looks like GMac has the best chances of just barely making the cut. The Irishman did make an excellent eagle on Thursday however, holing a 53-foot putt for the -2.

Stay tuned Sunday for our Results post to see who ended up winning,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Brendan Steele is in a very good spot at 8-under (Mark Randall, Sun Sentinel)

2015 Honda Classic Picks

The PGA Tour is back in Florida again for the start of their "Florida Swing". It's starts off this week on Thursday with the Honda Classic which is being played at the Champion Course at PGA National Golf Club, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Historically, this tournament has held one of the larger purses on the tour over the years; at one point, holding a larger purse than the Masters at one point in time. Today, the Honda Classic boasts a 6.2 million dollar purse and for a good reason, they're playing a pretty tough course this week.

The Champion Course brings water to play on a majority of their holes, which from the start is enough to intimidate most players, at least the non-pros. But what worries all players is the last few finishing holes, nicknamed "The Bear Trap". It consists of holes 15, 16, and 17, and is considered one of the toughest and most demanding set of holes on Tour. These holes demand accuracy over distance, and confidence and commitment to your game are keys to success in the Trap. On the other hand, the Trap makes for some exciting golf to watch. It's probably going to come down right to the last hole this week.

With that in mind, here are a few of our picks this week.

1) Rory McIlroy
2) Dustin Johnson
3) Graeme McDowell

There's just no counting Rory out of anything these days. That, plus his good finishes here over the last few years, makes him a good pick. Dustin's game has been really well, despite his leave of absence, so he's a good pick too. Lastly, you know we're picking GMac whenever he's playing.

This is one of the more exciting tournaments to watch on tour so be sure to check out Weekend Update post, to see who's leading and who's been cut.

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 A summary of "The Bear Trap"