Honda Classic: Course and current form stats for PGA National

Palm Beach Gardens is the venue for this week's Honda Classic which joined the Tour calendar 50 years ago this month.

Over the decades, the tournament has been staged at a number of different venues before settling on PGA National in 2007.

The Champion Course at PGA National is one of the most respected layouts in professional golf.

Designed by Tom and George Fazio, the Champion Course opened for business in November 1981.

Two years later it hosted the Ryder Cup, and then the PGA Championship in 1987.

Located approximately 80 miles north of downtown Miami, the venue has undergone three Jack Nicklaus-led upgrades during the past 20 years.

Course Characteristics

Although trees and dense vegetation are in short supply, it remains a course on which accurate tee-to-green golf is rewarded.

This is largely because of its plentiful and strategic bunkering, along with sizeable water hazards on 13 holes.

Even though the fairways do not appear to be overly tight, the low-lying Champion Course requires solid ball-striking, while its Tifeagle Bermuda grass putting surfaces were re-laid in 2018.

This parkland venue is definitely no pushover. Nine of PGA National's 15 champions are non-American.

Honda History

Champions at PGA National have tended to start quickly and be close to the top of the leaderboard by the halfway point.

Only one (Ernie Els) of its champions has been more than three strokes off the pace after 36 holes, and none have been outside the top 10.

In fact, 12 of PGA National's 15 winners have been no lower than tied-fifth thru 36 holes.

Therefore, it doesn't appear to be an easy course on which to chase birdies, if too far behind the leader on Friday evening.

The table below shows the champions' deficit/margin going into the weekend at the Champion Course.

Winners at PGA National

Year ... Champion... (Margin @ 36)
`21: Matt Jones (-3)
`20: Sung Jae Im (-3)
`19: Keith Mitchell (0)
`18: Justin Thomas (-2)
`17: Rickie Fowler (-1)
`16: Adam Scott (-3)
`15: Padraig Harrington (+1)
`14: Russell Henley (-3)
`13: Michael Thompson (-1)
`12: Rory McIlroy (-1)
`11: Rory Sabbatini (-1)
`10: Camilo Villegas (0)
`09: Yong Eun Yang (+1)
`08: Ernie Els (-5)
`07: Mark Wilson (-3)
Key: -3 (three shots off pace after 36 holes); +1 (led by one); 0 (tied for lead)

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Stroke Averages

Lowest 12 at PGA National (2016-21)
Average .... (Rounds)
69.25: Sung Jae Im (12)
69.57: Brandon Hagy (14)
69.75: Rickie Fowler (20)
69.90: Lucas Glover (20)
69.94: Brendan Steele (18)
70.06: Ryan Palmer (18)
70.08: Charl Schwartzel (12)
70.11: Billy Horschel (18)
70.25: CT Pan (16)
70.25: Gary Woodland (20)
70.30: Jhonattan Vegas (20)
70.31: Nick Watney (16)
Min. No. of Rounds = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table

Lowest 12 for Tour events staged in Florida (Since 1.1.2017)
Average .... (Rounds)
70.21: Sung Jae Im (42)
70.60: Jhonattan Vegas (42)
70.63: Brandon Hagy (24)
70.68: Tommy Fleetwood (44)
70.69: Nick Watney (36)
70.87: Ryan Palmer (38)
70.91: Joaquin Niemann (32)
70.94: Louis Oosthuizen (48)
70.97: Adam Schenk (30)
71.06: Lucas Glover (65)
71.12: Matt Jones (26)
71.17: Cameron Tringale (36)
Min. No. of Rounds = 24
Only those entered this week are included in table

Four To Watch

Tommy Fleetwood: The Englishman makes his first PGA Tour start of 2022, following a brace of top-12 finishes in the Middle East earlier in the year. Has a respectable record in Florida.

Billy Horschel: Playing some solid, consistent golf right now, probably his best for eight or nine years. Will be chasing a sixth PGA Tour title this week.

Sung Jae Im: According to both of the stroke averages' tables listed above, the 23-year-old Korean enjoys playing at PGA National, as well as in Florida in general. Currently ranked seventh in the Strokes Gained: Tee to Green standings, which is a skill that should come in handy this week.

Cameron Tringale: The 34-year-old from California has never won on the PGA Tour, despite nine podium finishes. The most recent of these came at Torrey Pines last month. Is currently a career-high No 47 in the World Ranking and the field for this week's tournament is not particularly strong by PGA Tour standards, thus a great chance for Tringale to break his duck.

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MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves