Honda Classic Recap
While the Honda Classic is not one of the PGA Tour’s “prestigious events” the vibes in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida are up, but so is the purse winnings. The purse total was boosted from $8 million to $8.4 million, which is way up from the $7 million purse in 2021.
Chris Kirk (-14) won the 2023 Honda Classic against Eric Cole in a playoff over. It is Kirk’s fifth PGA Tour victory in his career and the first since 2015 at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
Kirk has been playing solid all throughout the tour this year, especially recently placing top three in his last five appearances.
With his win this past weekend along with his two top three placements in his recent events, he has made a combined total of $2,529,100 in winnings.
During the weekend Kirk shot a 69 both on the first and last day of the Classic, along with shooting a 62 on a very tough PGA National course where lower scores aren’t too easy to come by.
The remaining final pairing of Kirk and Cole went toe-to-toe the entire Sunday at Palm Beach Gardens making it look like no one else had a chance. The mid-30-year-olds went shot-for-shot but only one could prevail.
Entering the final round, Kirk came in with a two-stroke lead and immediately extended it to three with a quick birdie.
Cole wasn’t out of it there as he shot for three straight birdies on holes three to five.
Heading into the inward nine of the back-and-forth classic, Cole took his first lead all day with his fifth birdie on a par-4 13th.
But very quickly two holes later a bogey on a par-3 15th put a bump in the road on Cole’s parade, and Kirk countered back quickly on the 16th with a birdie on a par-4 hole.
After the two battled with late pars, they both hit the fairway on hole 72. With a one-stroke lead, Kirk hit his second shot into the water setting up Cole for a two-shot swing to potentially win the tournament.
Cole was unable to get his birdie and settled for a par, while Kirk tapped in a bogey to force a playoff.
In extra holes, Kirk put himself in a tough spot when he missed the fairway, but the 37-year-old came through from 101 yards out and created tap-in distance.
Trying to extend the playoff Cole had a birdie bid from 10 feet out. The putt attempt from Cole grazed the inside of the hole and lipped up causing a shocked reaction from the crowd.
At last Kirk’s victory was in his grasp, tapping in the ball to secure his first victory on the tour in eight years.
The PGA Tour heads to Bay Hill in Orlando next week for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. All the best of the best in the PGA will be competing, with defending champion Scottie Scheffler, former winner Rory McIlroy and the number one in the world John Rahm.
Matt Cabram is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mwc5817@psu.edu
