Featured Groups: The Honda Classic

There’s nothing like a home game for defending champion Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods and others who live within driving distance of PGA National (Champion) and The Honda Classic. Given the mystique surrounding the watery, 7,110-yard, par-70 layout, you could be excused for thinking it was only accessible by boat. Water lurks seemingly everywhere, and the closing holes are especially fraught with danger. The so-called Bear Trap (holes 15-17) has accounted for 18 percent of all bogeys, 33 percent of all double-bogeys and 38 percent of triples or worse since PGA National became host in 2007. The par-5 18th hole offers plenty of opportunities for risk-reward decisions, as well. Woods ripped his second shot over water and onto the green for a closing eagle as he shot a final-round 62 and tied for second in 2012. Alas, that seems like a lifetime ago as Woods prepares to play consecutive tournaments for the first time since spinal-fusion surgery last spring. The strong field includes both the reigning FedExCup champion, Justin Thomas, who tied for third here two years ago, and the current FedExCup leader, Patton Kizzire, the only two-time winner so far this season. Sergio Garcia will begin his TOUR season at The Honda Classic, leading a talented international contingent.     RELATED LINKS: Tee times | Power Rankings | Field | Course | Past results PGA TOUR Live will have coverage Thursday and Friday starting at 7 a.m. ET, moving to Featured Hole coverage at 3 p.m. Featured Hole coverage will focus on the 179-yard, par-3 15th hole, which often plays into the wind and always plays over water, commencing the Bear Trap holes; and the rowdy 190-yard, par-3 17th, where water right and a bunker long and left means there’s basically no bail-out. PGA TOUR Radio and Golf Channel will have coverage all four days. Here’s a look at this week’s Featured Groups (current FedExCup rankings in parentheses). Justin Thomas (9), Sergio Garcia (NA), Daniel Berger (69) The 2017 FedExCup champion and Player of the Year Thomas will make his fourth career start at The Honda Classic, and it’s been feast or famine. He missed the cut in 2017 and ’15, but tied for third in ’16. He looks ready to win again after finishing T9 at the Genesis and T17 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Fellow South Florida resident Berger has a solid record at PGA National, with a runner-up to Padraig Harrington in 2015. And that was before Berger learned to win and played on his first U.S. Presidents Cup team, at Liberty National last fall. Garcia, 38, is the wildcard here as he’ll be making his PGA TOUR season debut. The 10-time TOUR winner has qualified for the season-ending TOUR Championship six times since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007. Tee time: 7:35 a.m. Thursday off the 10th tee. Tiger Woods (179), Brandt Snedeker (110), Patton Kizzire (1) Another week, another opportunity for two-time FedExCup champion Woods to straighten out his driver, with which he missed both left and right in missing the cut at the Genesis at Riviera. After struggling off the tee in his first two starts this season, he’ll need to find more fairways on a course where more water than rough awaits wayward shots. At least Woods has some positive (if not all that recent) mojo at PGA National after his final-round 62 and T2 finish in 2012. He will be paired with a fellow FedExCup champion in Snedeker, who is coming off two straight top-25 finishes after a rib injury limited him last season, and current No. 1 in FedExCup standings Kizzire, the only multiple winner so far this season. Tee time: 7:45 a.m. ET Thursday off the 10th tee. Rickie Fowler (23), Patrick Reed (91), Kevin Kisner (77) Defending Honda Classic champion (Fowler) finds himself in a group with two of his U.S. Presidents Cup teammates at Liberty National last fall. It’s no secret which player comes in hottest: Fowler was the runner-up at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, won the unofficial Hero World Challenge, tied for fourth at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and had a chance to finally win the Waste Management Phoenix Open until a final-round 73 dropped him into a tie for 11th place. He’s coming off a two-week break. Reed was a regular presence in the winner’s circle until going 0-fer 2017. He’s coming off a missed cut at the AT&T. Kisner has had a slow start to the season, other than a T4 at The RSM Classic. Tee time: 7:35 a.m. Friday off the 10th tee. Rory McIlroy (171), Adam Scott (162), Padraig Harrington (202) This group features three former Honda Classic champions, all looking to rediscover their winning form amid positive memories at PGA National. McIlroy, still just 28, won this event in 2012 and was a playoff runner-up in ’14. A 13-time PGA TOUR winner, the former world No. 1 hasn’t hoisted a trophy anywhere since he claimed the 2016 TOUR Championship and with it the FedExCup to close out 2016. He’s coming off a T20 at the Genesis Open. Scott, who like McIlroy is a 13-time TOUR winner, won The Honda Classic just two years ago. Although his recent form has been poor, a made cut at the Genesis (T53) may represent a step in the right direction. Harrington, 46, is still trying to get back to the player who dispatched Daniel Berger to win at watery PGA National in 2015.     Tee time: 7:45 a.m. Friday off the 10th tee.

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