PGA Tour holding last Honda Classic as a new sponsor awaits
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Someone will be getting a big check this week at the Honda Classic.
And then someone will be writing a big check to take over the Honda Classic.
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It’s expected that there will be a tournament at PGA National in 2024 and beyond, but this weekend will mark the last time someone wins the Honda. The automaker’s 42-year sponsorship — the longest-running continuous deal on the PGA Tour — ends with this event, and potential successors will be in Palm Beach Gardens to decide if they want to buy the naming rights.
“It’s disappointing on many aspects of it,” Florida native Billy Horschel said. “I’m sort of disappointed in the PGA Tour in the sense that — I’m not going to say they didn’t prioritize the Honda Classic, they prioritize every sponsor that we have. … But, you know, when I was out on tour early in my career, this was this was a hot event. I mean, you had all-top 20 players in the world playing here.”
This week’s event has three top-20 players — No. 18 Sungjae Im, Horschel is ranked 19th and No. 20 Shane Lowry. Scheduling has been a challenge for Honda for years; it was preceded by the Phoenix Open and the Genesis Invitational, and gets followed by Bay Hill and The Players Championship.
Those events all have $20 million purses, except for $25 million at The Players. Honda’s purse is $8.4 million.
“This was an event to play at, and then unfortunately over the years, it’s sort of been relegated to not as strong a field anymore,” Horschel said.
Changes are almost certainly coming, in more than just the name. The PGA Tour is trying to find a way for Honda to attract bigger names, and a schedule tweak is expected for next year.
“You’ve got 30 to 40 PGA Tour pros that live within a couple miles of this place, and I think you’ve only got a handful of them playing this week, and that’s disappointing,” Horschel said. “It really is.”
There is much to like. The Honda traditionally draws plenty of fans to PGA National, with a total attendance in recent years — except for the pandemic-limited tournament — going just over 200,000.
