The Honda Classic

[eirvev]

Finally! A Norwegian back on the PGA tour! Henrik Bjoernstad!

But I think Luke Donald will win.

What do you think?

[r7 425]

Mark Wilson should repeat. He won the Junior PGA there. That course seems to be easy for him

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

For what it's worth I started Ernie Els, Robert Allenby, Camilo Villegas and Luke Donald for my yahoo golf league. I hate to be boring but I say Els or Donald wins. Wouldn't be surprised if Boo Weekley made another run at it this year though.

[BASHERBAKER69]

this is Luke Donalds tournament!

[TourSpoon]

I picked Luke.

I will be there tomorrow courtesy of some free ground passes that I scored through my LPGA friend. I will say hi for you guys!

[Shindig]

  TourSpoon said:

I picked Luke.

Enjoy man. I followed Luke Donald twice, both times by accident. The first time was at Saturday at T.W.C. and I wanted to see Stricker (actually, I wanted to see Furyk more, but he was with Woods, so good luck seeing him). Stricker was paired with Donald that day. Similar story for Friday at the N.T.Open and Charles Howell III. Word from the wise: don't comment on how much Donald looks like his caddy when they're within earshot. They get tired of it and have heard it already. Oh, and I picked Donald for my Best Ball (ESPN) team. Donald Marino Kim and Villegas. Looking good...

[TourSpoon]

  Shindig said:

Enjoy man. I followed Luke Donald twice, both times by accident. The first time was at Saturday at T.W.C. and I wanted to see Stricker (actually, I wanted to see Furyk more, but he was with Woods, so good luck seeing him). Stricker was paired with Donald that day. Similar story for Friday at the N.T.Open and Charles Howell III.

Els and Sergio tee off on the front while Luke will be teeing off on the back at noon so I may not see him play too much.

[hurley9192]

Luke should look like his caddy...aren't they brothers?

[Shindig]

  hurley9192 said:

Luke should look like his caddy...aren't they brothers?

This is correct.

[TourSpoon]

OK, my report...

We got there at 7:30 and we followed Jason Day's group around and finally caught up to Leonard, Durant, and Byrd. It was really blowing out there. Leonard and Durant both birdied 2 in a row and finished up strong. We tried to follow Sergio and Ernie, but that was a joke as they drew so many people. We ended up seeing Dudley Hart's group and watched him make the last three birdies of his six birdie in a row run. He was playing with Anthony Kim and John Mallinger. Following the Leonard group and the Hart group was awesome because they had really small galleries of maybe 15-20 people.

Mark Calcaveccia was hanging aroung watching the Donald group teeing off and I talked to him about our high schools (we went to rival high schools down the street). He was cool and shook my hand. Sometimes the local boy thing pays off.

Overall, the course is in great shape and the wind really made it play tougher. Watching these guys play in person is like taking a lesson on tempo and body movement. They really keep their bodies quiet through the swing as opposed to amateurs making really exagerated weight shifts, swaying, etc. I think that most of us could benefit from their tempo and smoothness.

[TourSpoon]

Ok guys, we have a log jam at the top and it should be a great finish. After walking the course Friday and watching it really blow, it should all come down to the wire. I heard that this is one of the toughest courses these guys play all year and it is living up to its reputation.

One of my favorite holes out there was the 6th which plays 479 with water down the left and bunkers on the right. It is a converted par 5 into a par 4 with a small three tiered green. The fairway really pinches at the 270-290 yard drive to about 30 yards and leaves you with a long iron to a really tricky green. It was amazing watching those guys thread it into that area.

Of course the Bear Trap (15, 16, 17) should be very entertaining. If the wind is up, the 15th will again be swallowing balls. It is hard to believe that this hole is so tough, but into the breeze with no where to bail out makes it a hard par 3. Justin Leonard (Friday) actually went to the left side of the tee box and aimed right and drew it in over the water. That took guts.

Anyway, I'll be watching for some great golf. Enjoy!