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Sungjae Im, Billy Horschel and Shane Lowry are the top players at PGA National this week for the Honda Classic; Watch early coverage live on Thursday at 1.30pm on Sky Sports Golf before full coverage from 7pm
Last updated: 22/02/23 10:55
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Take a look back at the highlights of the final round of last year’s Honda Classic, where Shane Lowry recorded victory over Sepp Straka.
Take a look back at the highlights of the final round of last year’s Honda Classic, where Shane Lowry recorded victory over Sepp Straka.
Billy Horschel believes changes in the PGA Tour schedule are needed to help the Honda Classic build on the “disappointing” field and get more of the biggest names back to the event.
Honda ended 42 years as title sponsor on the PGA Tour this week, with no top 10 players in the world competing at one of the tour’s best venues.
That’s largely because the Honda Classic follows the Genesis Invitational, one of the new “up” events this year, with the tournament taking place before the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players.
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One of the highlights of the golfing calendar will be on The Players, with hourly coverage from TPC Sawgrass live on Sky Sports Golf
The “Florida Swing” will begin at PGA National on Thursday, live on Sky Sportswhere Sungjae Im is the title as world No. 18. Horschel also features as part of a run of five consecutive events to lose the only South Florida event left on the calendar.
“I’m disappointed in the PGA Tour in a sense – I wouldn’t say they don’t prioritize the Honda Classic, they prioritize every sponsor that we have,” Horschel said Wednesday. “It’s hard when you have 47 different sponsors on the PGA Tour and you have ‘X’ partners on the PGA Tour to please everyone.
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Relive how Rory McIlroy won the 2012 Honda Classic, securing the world number one position for the first time in his career.
“But when I went out on the tour early in my career, this was a hot event. You have top 20, all the top 20 players in the world play here. This is an event to play in. Then finally over the year it was sort of relegated to not being strong on the field anymore , for reasons … scheduling is the biggest, where the tournament falls.”
Honda announced last year that it would end racing as the event’s title sponsor. A new sponsor has not been confirmed, but Horschel said he has promised the PGA Tour that the venue will continue to have events on its calendar.
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How can the PGA Tour bring more stars to PGA National?
Horschel is one of dozens of tour pros who live in South Florida and has called on the PGA Tour to find a solution, with the move to a different part of the calendar possible ways to encourage players to return to the event.
“You have 30 to 40 PGA Tour professionals that live within a few miles of this place and I think you’re the only few that are playing this week,” Horschel added. “Really disappointed.
Billy Horschel is one of only three players among the top 30 players in the world on the PGA Tour this week
“The (PGA) tour needs to understand that, if you have 40 guys here who can stay in bed, jump in the car and drive 10, 15 minutes to the tournament, they need to make sure they do this. at the right point (on the schedule) so they get all the top players play here on a regular basis.
“We used to have two tournaments in South Florida, here and in Doral. Now we only have one. We’re not going to lose this one. I’ve been told we’re going to stay here.
“Now we just have to find out who will be the sponsor for the future and at the same time we have to make sure that the date is in a better place. It’s here, and I’m excited about it.”
Watch the Honda Classic all week live on Sky Sports. Early coverage begins on Thursday at 1.30pm on Sky Sports Golf, before full coverage from 7pm.
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