The elite of world golf moves this week to Florida, to the PGA National in Palm Beach, for the Honda Classic, a tournament that has acquired more and more importance in recent years thanks to the huge investments made in the field (one hundred million dollars starting since 2006) and to the imagination of Jack Nicklaus, who signs this course, characterized by an infernal triangle, holes 15, 16 and 17 called the "Bear Trap". Enthusiasts will remember that Nicklaus, when he was the number one golfer in the world, was nicknamed the Golden Bear and left his signature on this course, more than on any others he designed.
The PGA National has hosted the Ryder Cup, the PGA Championship and a dozen senior PGA championships in its lifetime. The success of the Honda Classic, which has been held here since 2007, is due both to the presence of all the greatest players and to the date. The tournament is in fact placed between the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play (which took place last week in Arizona and in which the American Matt Kuchar prevailed) and the Cadillac World Golf Championship at the TPC Blue Monster, at Doral in Miami next week.
Up for grabs are six million dollars, just over a million in the first coin, and all contenderse are number one: Tiger Woods, Rory McIlory, Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Keegan Bradley, Ernie Els. In short, the usual suspects. Italy is also in Florida with Matteo Manassero, 19 years old and with a mad desire to climb the world rankings. Matteo last week didn't pass the first match play match in Arizona, as happened to the sacred monsters Tiger Woods and Rory McIlory.
Manassero, however, had the toughest nut to crack, Hunter Mahan, reigning match play champion, who reached the final again this year, defeated only by the winner Kuchar. Tiger and Rory's matches were apparently easier, but in match play nothing is taken for granted, because it's not whoever takes the fewest shots who wins, but whoever wins the most holes in a direct confrontation with the opponent. While Woods has played pretty well anyway, McIlory has yet to get on the ball. We hope to see him play better in Florida where he has lived for a few years and where right here, in 2012, he conquered the podium ahead of Tiger. The success brought McIlroy to the top of the world rankings for the first time, a position he consolidated and increased in the following months. For now he hasn't shown much and so the rumors about the difficulties that the player encounters with the equipment supplied by the new technical sponsor have not subsided.
Let's now see the most interesting tees: Manassero is at the tee of hole one at 8,05 with the Swede Peter Hanson and the American Ricky Barnes; he also wakes up early for Tiger at the 10 tee at 7,25 with Dustin Johnson and Martin Kaymer; so Justin Rose to Charl Schwartzel at 7,35.
Mcilroy with Els and Mark Wilson start at 12,25 from hole one, followed by Bradley, Rickie Fowler and Lee Westwood. In all there are 48 starts from three, for a total of 144 players, half of whom will go home after the first two days.
Favorites: Rory and Tiger are paid the least at the box office, but savvy punters aren't quick to trust them. More popular (although higher paid, therefore abstractly less probable) are the South African Schwartzel and the Englishman Rose, last year's Cadillac winner. In pole position the nice Swede Fredrik Jacobson, who appeared in great shape at the last tournaments and the always competitive and solid Graeme McDowell.
Uncertain weather forecast: it starts with the sun, but then rain and wind are also to be expected. For Golf on TV, appointment at 21 on Sky starting tonight.
