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The Honda Classic at PGA National always produces drama. But whilst the drama at PGA National is a constant, it was the only constant this week. Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, saw last year's champion and pre-tournament favourite Rickie Fowler miss the cut at seven-over on the par-70 course, with a six-over Friday featuring six bogeys and a double to cancel out two birdies. Other pre-tournament tips from experts included Patton Kizzire, Martin Kaymer and Brandt Snedeker. Guess what: they all missed the cut! Whilst other popular "expert" picks like Gary Woodland, Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy did make the cut, that merely prolonged their agony.
Onto the more successful picks, and where better to start than with champion Justin Thomas. If you read the Foremost Golf tournament preview blog last week then you were in luck. I picked JT to get his first win of the calendar year. It wasn't exactly rocket science though. The PGA National course is known for its ability to force the highest quality out of the greatest players, and Justin Thomas was the highest ranked player in the field. You can understand him being overlooked in favour of Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia, who have established themselves as bigger names over longer careers, but a big name doesn't win tournaments; winning tournaments makes a big name. Justin Thomas is going about doing exactly that.
It wasn't plain sailing for the American, though. Blistery conditions proved the undoing of many players, especially around the infamous "Bear Trap" on the 15th, 16th & 17th holes. Friday proved particularly tough playing, with the wind leading main attraction Tiger Woods to his only above-par round (1) of the week. Sweden's Alex Noren followed up an opening round of four-under with a five-over in Friday's disruptive weather, and a double-bogey on the 16th led JT to a two-over 72. Luke List and Jamie Lovemark both went under-par on the day for a share of the lead heading into the weekend.
England's Tommy Fleetwood snuck up the leaderboard stealthily to finish fourth; one behind Alex Noren, who recovered with a five-under on Saturday and went three-under on the final day to finish -7 for the week. Nothing could separate JT and List over 72 holes, so the pair headed into a playoff at eight-under. An excruciating seventeen-foot missed birdie putt from List handed FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas the chance to win with a simple birdie putt on the par-five 18th, and of course he took it with the coolest of heads for his eighth career win.
Away from the top of the leaderboard (although not too far away), Tiger was the epitome of consistency throughout the week as he sandwiched a +1 and -1 between two even-pars to finish at number 12. The fact that PAR was enough for a top-12 finish speaks volumes about the conditions in Florida. But if Tiger was Mr Consistent, McIlroy was Mr Erratic en route to nine-over. The fact he failed to find par all week barely cracked the headlines, with day three providing more than enough entertainment on its own. After landing dangerously close to the water hazard on the par-three 4th, the Northern Irishman chipped to the green whilst balancing on the rocks and very nearly lost his balance post-swing; narrowly avoiding falling back into the water. Two holes later, he continued to go the extra mile as he opted to play a shot with his lob wedge whilst kneeling in the middle of a bush rather than take a drop. Regardless of the unflattering scorecard (nine-over for T59), Rory's commitment to the cause deserves credit.
Now, returning to the winner!
Justin Thomas - What's in the Bag?
Driver: Titleist 917 D2
Fairway Wood: Titleist 917 F2
Irons: Titleist 718 AP2, Titleist 718 MB
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM6, Titleist Vokey SM5
Putter: Scotty Cameron Circle TX5
Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Written by Joe Carabini
