The Honda Classic Is Done, But Maybe Not Gone Forever
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After 42 years as title sponsor—the longest run on the PGA Tour— Honda has bowed out after the 2023 event with the tournament’s future somewhat murky.
There’s been considerable consternation about the tournament’s poor field and while that is understandable, it should not be a surprise. There is nothing wrong the event itself, simply its place on the schedule and the reality that following Tiger Woods’s Genesis Invitational and preceding the Arnold Palmer Invitational is going to be a tough sell to players who can’t play every week.
Even before these "designated" or elevated events, the Genesis and API were already "elevated" by the Tour. Their purses were increased and—along with the Memorial Tournament—a three-year exemption came for winning. With 120-player fields and iconic hosts, those following or preceding were already in a tough spot.
And since Woods became host at the Genesis in 2017, there's been a gradual slide for Honda especially as for a time it also followed the WGC event played in Mexico.
So now what?
It’s hard to envision the PGA Tour abandoning Florida and subtracting from what has been a fruitful Florida swing of four events. Especially with Jack and Barbara Nicklaus involved. Their children's hospital is one of the beneficiaries, and the Golden Bear was in the broadcast booth Sunday extolling the virtues of the South Florida golf community, specifically the Palm Beach area, with the expectation that the tournament will see a brighter future.
But a title sponsor is necessary and perhaps it would help if there were not a glut of designated events during this time period.
"What you would look to see next year and years beyond would be having the event in a position where it's not isolated," Andy Pazder, the PGA Tour’s competitions and tournaments officer, told the Palm Beach Post.
It wasn’t that long ago that Honda had a strong group of the top 20 players in the world. This year it had just four of the top 30 and none in the top 15. And while some of this can be attributed to the new designated events structure that requires players to compete in all of those events, the Honda Classic and the Valspar Championship—the other Florida non-elevated tournament—have long faced these challenges with Riviera, Arnold Palmer and a World Golf Championships event lurking within the same time frame. Throw in the Players coming back to March and there's no easy answer.
One thing that will seemingly help is the loss of the WGC-Match Play next year. It appears the Houston Open will take its spot on the schedule and without that opening, Houston could have bumped Honda.
Another is the Tour's relationship with World Wide Technology, which has an ongoing sponsorship agreement but no tournament at the moment. It had been the title of the Mayakoba event in Mexico, but won’t be returning this year after LIV Golf is now using the venue. Perhaps World Wide Technology steps in as the new title.
Or the Tour might simply have to subsidize the event for a year, a practice it has undertaken many times.
Another help is an extra week in the schedule next year with the Masters being a week later. That presents some extra space on the schedule.
One thing to keep in mind, however, is that if there is not separation between the Genesis and API and Players, whoever falls in that week is going to have a tough time, regardless.
And it's also important to note that well before the advent of designated events, there has always been a handful of PGA Tour events with decidedly weak fields. It's simply the reality when you play 34 events in the main part of the schedule.
The Player Impact Program (PIP) guys are expected to play 20 times and the Tour has done its best to try and spread some of the wealth by requiring three of those tournaments to be outside of the designated tournaments.
There also can be too much focus on field strength. Many tournaments thrive without all the top names and donate huge sums to charity. Yes, the title sponsor looks to get a return on its investment with more eyeballs, but typically those companies go in with the eyes open.
A lot still needs to transpire for the 2024 schedule to emerge but how the Honda Classic is renamed and positioned will be a big part of it.