:com:Honda Classic golf sports new lookThe Honda Classic underwent another makeover, but one goal still remains: attracting the marquee players on a yearly basis.
BY JEFF SHAIN
jshain@MiamiHerald.com
PALM BEACH GARDENS - All things considered, it might have been easier to start from scratch.
The Honda Classic has a new management team, new venue, new charity and new date -- as this week's opening act for the PGA Tour's monthlong swing through Florida.
The makeover won't be complete, though, without transforming some old attitudes.
''We've had to resell it, and we're still reselling it,'' said executive director Ken Kennerly, charged with pitching the new look to the tour's biggest names.
``The [old] Honda was a good tournament, but there were a lot of players that for whatever reason chose not to play it. So we're constantly reselling our brand: The new Honda Classic.''
The revamped edition tees off Thursday on PGA National Resort's Champion course, former site of the 1983 Ryder Cup and '87 PGA Championship.
''It's a venue that's got a lot of history behind it,'' said defending champion Luke Donald. ``Hopefully that will attract some marquee players.''
The prospectus was enough to deliver seven of the top 20 names in golf's world rankings -- slightly ahead of the number drawn to the Club at Mirasol during its four-year run as host.
But among the rankings' top seven, only No. 2 Jim Furyk will be teeing it up this week.
Which underscores the salesmanship that remains ahead.
''That's why our first year is critical to our success,'' Kennerly said. ``Albeit we can't do everything in Year One, we need to make sure we're [considered] a blue-chip event.''
That was a struggle during the past decade, when the Honda found itself outshined by the selling points of its Florida Swing brethren.
Doral offered the Blue Monster, which still didn't prevent that event from a few down years. Bay Hill has Arnold Palmer, a living legend who takes an active role as host. The Players Championship boasted the toughest field and richest purse.
The Honda, on the other hand, might have helped sell more real estate than any other PGA Tour stop.
GYPSY LIFE
Three developments -- Eagle Trace, Weston and Mirasol -- approached build-out during the tournament's respective stays. Mirasol grew so fast that there were rumblings about moving to PGA National a year early.
In all, the Honda has been staged on five courses in the past dozen years. But the gypsy life doesn't engender much loyalty among PGA Tour pros.
''You don't like to see golf courses that suit you drop off the schedule,'' U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy said amid last year's runner-up finish.
Or as Fred Couples once quipped about Mirasol: ``It's going to grow on us this year and then we're gone, right?''
Neither, by the way, signed up for this edition.
Now officials envision PGA National as a place for the Honda to set down roots.
''We hope so,'' Kennerly said. ``[Resort ownership is] extremely bullish on this tournament. I know Honda wants to see us here for the long haul. We also have to gauge the player experience.''
The Champion course is no neophyte. Opened in 1981, it was the stage for the dramatic 1983 Ryder Cup -- leaving a lasting image when U.S. captain Jack Nicklaus kissed the divot from Lanny Wadkins' wedge that clinched victory. Four years later, a stifling PGA Championship produced Larry Nelson as the ultimate survivor. PGA National also has been the home of 18 PGA Seniors Championships and 15 Junior PGAs.
''I think it's a real positive move for [the Honda],'' said NBC golf analyst Gary Koch. ``I think it'll prove to be quite a test for the best players in the world.''
Activities surrounding the tournament also have been jump-started. Whereas the old Honda offered a friendly, casual gathering centered on golf, players and fans will see a wider variety of entertainment options.
Officials hope to turn the par-3 17th -- 190 yards to a green two-thirds guarded by water -- into the type of amphitheater found at the 17th at Sawgrass or 16th at Phoenix.
Plans also call for nightly concerts after completion of play, a Saturday fireworks show and a fan zone with kids' games, a rock-climbing wall and driving range where PGA teaching pros offer tips.
Nicklaus, meantime, will conduct a golf clinic Tuesday afternoon with Donald, Rocco Mediate and Billy Andrade.
Player amenities range from a fishing tournament off Singer Island to a private wine tasting to go-kart racing to free spa treatments for wives.
''I'm not sure, looking at all the activities,'' Donald joked, ``whether I'm going to have enough time to play golf.''
SHADES OF DORAL
If the new look sports a hint of Doral flavor, it's no coincidence. Two of Kennerly's top aides -- tournament director Ed McEnroe and sales director Joanie Connors -- were imported from Doral when the World Golf Championships took over that event.
Kennerly's stated goal is for the Honda to be judged 2007's most improved tournament. With that, he expects word of mouth will bring the marquee players in for a look.
Beyond Doral's example, he cites the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, N.C., which in its four-year existence has developed into a can't-miss event.
''The first year they had a good field, but certainly not what the field is today,'' he said.
``It's crucial for us to make sure these guys come here, have a great time and enjoy PGA National. The proof is in the pudding to players and sponsors. And the pudding's in there.''
Digging further through the archives reveals nine players in this week's field participated in the last PGA TOUR event at PGA National's Champion Course, the 1987 PGA Championship. The nine men in, and their finishes, in order: Jeff Sluman (tied for 14th), Bernhard Langer (T-21), Fred Funk (T-47), Bob Tway (T-47), Paul Azinger (missed cut), Mark Calcavecchia (MC), Davis Love III (MC), Corey Pavin (MC) and Joey Sindelar (MC).
Americans have won 27 of 33 editions of the Honda Classic, but foreign-born players have captured six of the last 13, including the last two by Luke Donald and Padraig Harrington (with runner-up finishes by internationals Vijay Singh and Geoff Ogilvy).
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