The Civic of Tournaments

Honda Classic Ending Sponsorship After 42 Years

News Slice

  • 💰 Purse: $8.4M

  • 🏆 Winner: Chris Kirk 🇺🇸 | $1.5M prize

  • 📍 Location: PGA National Resort - The Champion Course, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

The Honda Classic 🚙 was this past weekend with Chris Kirk taking home 1st place in a not-so star-studded field of golfers. The Honda Classic had one of the weakest fields in recent memory with not one player in the top 17 of the World Golf Rankings. Most of the top ranked golfers decided to take a week of rest to prepare for upcoming tournaments that are more prevalent: the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The PLAYERS Championship 🏌️. The Arnold Palmer starts this weekend and The PLAYERS is the weekend after, both of which are being played in Florida with purses of $20M and $25M 💰, respectively.

Even though some of the top players weren’t here to entertain us, there is plenty of young talent on the PGA Tour looking to make their names known. Players such as Sungjae Im 🇰🇷 and Billy Horschel 🇺🇸 made appearances in this tournament, as well as up-and-comer Eric Cole 🇺🇸 who finished in 2nd place in dramatic fashion.

Chris Kirk put to bed an eight-year drought after winning his first PGA Tour event since 2015. He had to wait one more hole to do it, as he won in a playoff against rookie Eric Cole. The playoff only lasted one hole, as he and Cole squared off on the par-5, 18th. He put his approach shot so close that it allowed him to tap in for birdie 🐦. Cole had an outstanding chance to keep the playoff going, but missed a 10-foot putt that lipped out, leaving him devastated 😑. Cole’s mother and fiancée were watching close by and their reactions were about the same as all of ours.

This was Kirk’s 5th overall win on the Tour 🏆, but it will be the last time anyone is crowned the “Honda” champion. The car company is ending its title sponsorship of the event after doing so for the past 42 years. A new sponsor is expected to take its place, but as of now that new name is unknown. The PGA Tour hopes to have something set in the coming weeks. One name I am sure we are not going to see is the “FTX Classic” in the 2024 schedule of events 💸, though nothing surprises me anymore 😉

Even though we were missing stars such as Rory, Rahm, and Sheffler, there was plenty of entertainment this past weekend. That included 21 year-old Akshay Bhatia who not only once, but twice went into the muddy waters 💦 to hit his ball. This forced him into an impromptu wardrobe change and required the assistance of his girlfriend bringing him a new set of clothes. What a gal.

He was able to save par on the first “mud trap” attempt on the 6th hole, but wasn’t so lucky on his second try later on at the 15th hole. He would end up with double-bogey on that one. Check out his attempts here:

Boo coming through with the wardrobe change 👕😉…

Tune in next week for the Arnold Palmer Invitational ☂️ ⛳

Swing for the Fences

Imagine this … you’re sitting about 35 yards from the green. It’s a beautiful 70° day with the sun shining 🌤️. You pull out that lob wedge and line up the shot. You let it rip but the distance is off and it lands on the other side of the green.

Those short shots are vital to shaving shots off your score. Let’s work on the pitch shot!

  1. The Easiest Way to Hit Great Pitch Shots - ChrisRyanGolf

  2. Hot to Pitch Like a Tour Pro - Top Speed Golf - Clay Ballard

Course of the Day

The Dinosaur Trail Golf Club - Dremheller, Alberta - Canada 🇨🇦 

Venturing outside of the homeland brings us to a very unique course in Drumheller, Alberta - Canada. The Dinosaur Trail Golf Course 🦕 is a unique golf course known for… you guessed it, Dinosaurs. Not real ones of course, no one would be able to finish the first hole. It’s actually most known for being built on top of the Drumheller HooDoos, which are large, mushroom-shaped capstones (composed of sand and clay from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation) that protect softer, underlying rock formations🏜️

The course lies in the heart of North America’s premier fossil hunting ground. The Royal Tyrrell Museum, which houses the world’s biggest collection of dinosaur fossils under one roof, is right down the road. So if your shot goes anywhere but the fairway, you may come out with a golf ball, a T-Rex tooth 🦖 , or both!

Absolutely stunning

It opened as a 9-hole course in 1965 and is laid out along the Red Deer River 🏞️. It’s makeup is a conventional parkland, with the first five holes completely encircling holes 6 to 9. Highlights on this loop include the tough, very long par 4, 4th, rated the hardest hole on the course with handicap index 1. After warming up on the front-9, it’s time to venture off to a more rugged terrain on higher ground across the road.

30 years later in 1996, the back-9 was created. The back 9 is where this course gets its reputation. Of course playing around the HooDoos is always going to give you a leg up on the competition, but the back 9 also offers a greater challenge than the front while enjoying its beautiful landscapes ⛰️ and prehistoric type look at the same time. It really speaks for itself.

The rates aren’t bad either… going on a weekend will cost you at most $95 for 18 holes and a cart. Another course that needs to be checked off the bucket list 🪣✅

19th Hole

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy Break Ground on High-Tech Golf League

While some players took off to play in the LIV Golf League, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy had something else in mind and created their own league, the TGL.

⛏️ They have taken part in the ceremonial groundbreaking for TGL, a high-tech golf league that aims to bring golf into the 21st century. The league will launch in January 2024. Players will be competing in a fast-moving game consisting of both virtual and in-person golf in an enclosed arena.

🤝 PGA Tour Partnership and Custom-Built Arena

The TGL is in partnership with the PGA Tour, and the custom-built arena will combine a data-rich virtual course with a state-of-the-art short game complex. This offers a high-tech, high-energy fan experience with fans sitting greenside.

🏌️‍♂️ The Players

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are the first two golfers committed to compete in the league. Besides them, the league will include world No. 1 Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Adam Scott, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick, Max Homa, Billy Horschel, Justin Rose, and Xander Schauffele. Check out all the players here.

🗓️ Format and Schedule

The concept is six teams of three PGA Tour players, squaring off in match play on a data-driven virtual course that also includes a short-game complex for chipping and putting. It’ll be played on Monday nights, and will take only two hours, with in-arena fans all very close to the action. There will be 15 matches in the regular season, followed by semifinals and a final.

👏 Player Access and Fan Experience

Access is part of the allure of the concept, along with the technology. TGL players will be mic'd-up, and fans won’t have to guess what their thought processes are on certain shots. It’s just a more in-depth look into how the golfers do things and how they think through things in their head.

💵 Betting and Culture

Tiger Woods pointed out that wagering is part of their sport, and the league offers the opportunity for fans to bet on the outcome of the games.

🗞️ Conclusion

The TGL offers a fresh perspective on golf and aims to attract new audiences. The combination of high-tech features, access to players, and fast-paced match play format offers a unique fan experience.