Road to the Masters continues with Honda Classic

Published Mar. 16, 2021 10:53 a.m. ET
Associated Press

PGA TOUR

HONDA CLASSIC

Site: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Course: PGA National (Champions). Yardage: 7,125. Par: 70.

ADVERTISEMENT

Prize money: $7 million. Winner's share: $1.26 million.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC).

Defending champion: Sungjae Im.

FedEx Cup leader: Bryson DeChambeau.

Last week: Justin Thomas won The Players Championship.

Notes: The tournament once boasted all the top players who have moved to the Palm Beach area, such as Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. Now it doesn't have anyone from the top 10. Daniel Berger is the highest-ranked player at No. 15. ... Brooks Koepka was planning to play until injuring his right knee. The only Koepka in the field is his younger brother, Chase, who received a sponsor exemption. ... Phil Mickelson, not eligible for the Dell Match Play for the first time, is playing the Honda Classic. ... Rickie Fowler also is in the field and not eligible for the Match Play. ... Five former No. 1 players in the world are at the Honda Classic — Adam Scott, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Vijay Singh. ... Both Ryder Cup captains, Steve Stricker and Padraig Harrington, are playing in the same event on the Florida swing for the second time. Both made the cut at Bay Hill. ... Scott is playing the Honda Classic instead of the Dell Match Play next week. ... Westwood is the first player to be the runner-up in consecutive weeks since Webb Simpson at the Wyndham Championship and The Northern Trust in August 2019.

Next week: WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and Corales Punta Cana Resort & Club Championship.

Online:

___

EUROPEAN TOUR

MAGICAL KENYA OPEN

Site: Nairobi, Kenya.

Course: Karen CC. Yardage: 6,921. Par: 71.

Prize money: 1 million euros. Winner's share: TBA.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 5-10 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 5-9:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Guido Migliozzi (2019).

Race to Dubai leader: Tyrrell Hatton.

Last week: Antoine Rozner won the Qatar Masters.

Notes: Rozner has won twice in his first 29 starts on the European Tour. ... Lee Westwood, with consecutive runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour, has risen to No. 4 in the world points list for the Ryder Cup. If he makes the team, he will tie Nick Faldo's record of playing on 11 teams for Europe. ... This is the start of back-to-back tournaments at Karen Country Club in Nairobi. ... The European Tour no longer is pursuing plans to stage its Iberian swing in Florida. Plans are now to hold two events in Spain and one in Portugal following the Masters. ... George Coetzee of South Africa at No. 87 in the world is the highest-ranked player in the field. ... COVID-19 potentially cost former Masters champion Danny Willett two big tournaments. A positive test knocked him out of The Players Championship and thus kept him from moving up in the world ranking to qualify for the 64-man field in the Dell Match Play next week.

Next week: WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and the Kenya Savannah Classic.

Online:

___

KORN FERRY TOUR

CHITIMACHA LOUISIANA OPEN

Site: Broussard, Louisiana.

Course: Le Triomphe Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,067. Par: 71.

Prize money: $600,000. Winner's share: $108,000.

Television: None.

2019 winner: Vince Covello.

Last tournament: Hayden Buckley won the Lecom Suncoast Classic.

Next week: Club Car Championship.

Online:

___

LPGA TOUR

Last week: Austin Ernst won the Drive On Championship.

Next tournament: Kia Classic on March 25-28.

Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.

Online:

___

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Last tournament: Kevin Sutherland won the Cologuard Classic.

Next tournament: Chubb Classic on April 16-18.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Kevin Sutherland.

Online:

___

OTHER TOURS

Symetra Tour: Carlisle Arizona Women's Golf Classic, Longbow GC, Mesa, Arizona. Defending champion: New event. Online:

Sunshine Tour: Gauteng Championship, Ebotse Links, Benoni, South Africa. Defending champion: New event. Online:

share