The Honda Classic – Palm Beach County ’s largest sporting event ¬– picked up some more prestige in late February when it was announced that Padraig Harrington and Vijay Singh had committed to play this year at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, March 1-7.
Harrington (10th in the Official World Golf Ranking) and Singh, who each have won three major championships, join a spectacular international field that includes Lee Westwood (fourth), Paul Casey (sixth), Rory McIlroy (ninth), Sergio Garcia (13th), Robert Allenby (15th), Ernie Els (19th), Camilo Villegas (22nd), Luke Donald (23rd), Angel Cabrera (27th) and Y.E. Yang (29th).
Harrington won the 2005 Honda Classic; Singh won the 1999 Honda. They join former Honda champions Yang (2009), Els (2008), Mark Calcavecchia (1987, 1998), Todd Hamilton (2004), Tim Herron (1996), Justin Leonard (2003), Stuart Appleby (1997) and Mark Wilson (2007).
Harrington has been a fixture in the Top 10 and rose as high as No. 3 in the world in 2008 after he won back-to-back British Opens and also captured the 2008 PGA Championship.
Despite that success, he has been working a lot on his swing the past two years and it has brought him mixed results. He struggled in the early part of last year, but then had a flurry of six top 10 finishes in the second half of the Tour season.
“The main thing that I changed is at the top of my backswing, I tended to finish my backswing my arching my back a bit,” Harrington said. “That’s probably one of the more significant things I’ve taken out. The other has to do with my hip turn and my takeaway.
“I couldn’t leave it alone last year. It just absolutely had me enthralled. I was fascinated with trying to get to the bottom of it. It certainly led to a very poor performances all the way up till August. It was only in August that I kind of eventually agreed that I could wait another four months of the winter to finish off what I was doing. The minute I put it away, I was very happy that my game actually turned around very quickly.”
Harrington has only placed twice in 2010, missing the cut at the Northern Trust and finishing in a tie for 16th at Pebble Beach.
Individual daily tickets can be purchased for $15 (Tuesday and Wednesday), $30 (Thursday and Friday) or $40 (Saturday and Sunday). A Classic Value Pack good for the entire week is $95 and includes over $300 worth of added value coupons from area golf courses, restaurants and PGA National Resort & Spa.
The Honda Classic awarded more than $642,000 to area children’s charities in 2009 to surpass the $16 million mark in charitable contributions during American Honda’s 28-year tenure as title sponsor.
Visit www.thehondaclassic.com or call (866) 846-6328 to order tickets.

Play the course on March 8
And if walking the facility and watching the shot-making has given you the urge to get out on the course, you’re in luck.
The Honda Classic and First Tee of The Palm Beaches have created the opportunity for golfers to play PGA National Resort & Spa’s Champion Course under Sunday PGA Tour Tournament conditions while raising money for charity.
On March 8 at 8:30 a.m., the day after the final round of The Honda, the tournament turns the course over to First Tee.
For an entry fee of $500 (includes Champions Club tournament ticket) or $350 (includes Bear Trap tournament ticket), golfers can play the same setup as the pros play down the stretch on Sunday in a two-man best-ball competition.
Prizes will be awarded in both gross and net divisions.
The entry fee includes green fees, cart, practice balls, continental breakfast, awards luncheon, gift bag and special reduced-fee Honda Classic tournament hospitality.
All proceeds will go toward The First Tee of The Palm Beaches.
For more information or to sign up to play, call Craig Watson at (561) 262-5963 or visit www.thefirstteepalmbeaches.org.
– Information compiled from news releases and Web sites.

Author: Tee Times staff report

Received: 2010-03-05 [y/m/d]

Item #740


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