Large crowds expected to return to 2022 Honda Classic at PGA National

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The Honda Classic has returned to its normal spot at the start of the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing.

So will the large crowds.

With COVID-19 restrictions not expected to impact the tournament that runs February 24-27 at PGA National Resort & Spa – only 10,000 spectators a day were allowed last year when the event was held as the final Florida stop – Honda Classic officials are expecting robust crowds and record charitable donations.

“We have never felt the excitement and energy for the upcoming tournament that we currently do,” Honda Classic executive director Ken Kennerly said at Tuesday’s media day. “While our new date should reflect an improved player field, I think the demand for our product is a testament to what we have built the last 15 years.”

Kennerly expects to not only see a lot of familiar fans behind the yellow ropes, but a lot of new ones, too. Anyone who has lived in Palm Beach County the last two years has seen the influx of people moving here due in large part to the pandemic.

Many of the newcomers have only seen the Honda Classic on TV. In two weeks, they will get a close-up view.

“Many of the new families moving to our area only know the Honda Classic by reputation, but now they will get a chance to experience it,” Kennerly said. “You’ve seen it in other events around the community – the interest to get out and do something fun is at the top of the minds for many people.”

Not only will the Honda Classic return to its full build-out of structures and grandstands on the Champion course, but it’s reaching new heights. Literally.

For the first time, the tournament will feature a double-deck structure on the final hole (No. 17) of the Bear Trap that will be used as a private hospitality area called Bear Trap Reserve.

There’s not much hospitable for the players about the water-fronted 17th hole, however. It’s one of the toughest par-3s on the PGA Tour. There will be even more eyeballs on the leaders as they try to navigate the difficult closing stretch.

“The more, the merrier,” said defending champion Matt Jones, who ended a seven-year winless drought last year with a five-shot victory over Brandon Hagy. “It’s not the easiest golf hole. The people in Florida understand golf. As long as they are quiet and understand, we have no issues.”

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The Honda Classic was moved three weeks earlier on the schedule after last year’s tournament struggled to attract some of the world’s top golfers because it was sandwiched between The Players and the WGC-Match Play Championship. It didn’t help that local stars Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger (injuries) and Gary Woodland (positive COVID test) had to miss the event.

Koepka, a four-time major champion, leads the list of early commitments, along with Louis Oosthuizen, Lee Westwood, Rickie Fowler, Woodland, Tommy Fleetwood, and Justin Rose.

Brooks Koepka on the 9th hole during the second round of the Honda Classic at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Feb. 28, 2020. (Photo: Allen Eyestone/The Palm Beach Post)

And Brooks won’t be the only Koepka in the field. His younger brother, Chase, was given a sponsor exemption for the second consecutive year. Chase deserved one after finishing 20th last year.

“It was very unexpected, but I’m super thrilled to come back and try to have another good finish,” Chase Koepka said Tuesday. “I know the course very well and it suits my game. It’s always great to play in a tournament with my brother. I can’t thank Mr. Kennerly enough.”

In addition to Chase Koepka, the Honda Classic also has offered exemptions to two-time champion and three-time major winner Padraig Harrington; Fleetwood, who had a chance to win in 2020, finishing third; Jason Dufner; and Kyle Westmoreland, a member of the Korn Ferry Tour who spent five years serving in the Air Force.

Former Honda Classic champions in the field are Harrington, Sungjae Im, Keith Mitchell, Luke Donald, Camilo Villegas, and Rory Sabbatini.

Also returning this year will be the Pratt & Whitney Patriots Outpost Appreciate Pavilion after it was scrapped last year because of COVID.

Notes: The Honda Classic has created a college scholarship for minority youth named after 93-year-old Victoria Kingdom of Riviera Beach. Kingdom was the first Black woman to work at PGA National when she served as a female locker room attendant from 1985-97. She has spent most of her adult life teaching and playing golf.