Honda Classic

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The Honda Classic is a PGA Tour golf tournament that is played each March in Florida. It was founded in 1972 as the Jackie Gleason's Inverrary Classic. In 1981, American Motors backed the tournament. Since 1982, Honda has sponsored it. The tournament is currently played at the Country Club at Mirasol in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

The event was originally played at the Inverrary Golf Club in Lauderhill, Florida. In 1984, it moved to the TPC at Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Florida, where it stayed until 1991. From 1992 to 1995, the play-offs were held at the Westin Hills Golf & Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It then returned to Coral Springs, first at the TPC at Eagle Trace in 1996 and then at the TPC at Heron Bay from 1997 to 2002. In 2003, the event moved to its current location in Palm Beach Gardens, first at the Country Club at Mirasol through 2006, and starting in 2007, at PGA National Resort & Spa's Champion Course. The 2007 event will also have new executive director, Ken Kennerly, who will oversee a newly-formed tournament organizing committee.

Some celebrated golfers have won this tournament, including Jack Nicklaus in 1977 and 1978. However, it has acquired a reputation for struggling to attract the top players. Tiger Woods has never taken part, Ernie Els has been an absentee since 1999, and Phil Mickelson since 2002. This is despite the fact that the prize money is comparable to other PGA Tour events outside of the "big nine" (the majors, the World Golf Championships individual events, the Players Championship, and the Tour Championship). The total was $5,500,000 in 2006, with a top prize of $990,000 (this can be contrasted to the total purse of $300,000 for the match held in 1981).

Part of the problem is this event's place on the schedule. It is played two weeks before The Players Championship (the "fifth major" to some in the media) and four weeks before The Masters (one of the four genuine majors). It is also sandwiched between the more successful regular tour events, the Ford Championship at Doral that has attracted very strong fields in recent years and the Bay Hill Invitational that has the advantage of being associated with Arnold Palmer. Therefore, many of the top contenders for the Players and the Masters choose the week of the Honda Classic to take a break.

In 2005, only three of the top ten players in the World Golf Rankings entered. In fairness, it should be noted that there are many other PGA Tour events that attract comparatively weak fields as the top players only compete in about half of the events. This event has had a fairly high number of first time Tour winners, including Larry Nelson and Todd Hamilton, who have gone on to win majors.

The tournament will have a new beneficiary - the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation, which is chaired by Barbara Nicklaus, wife of golfing legend Jack Nicklaus.