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Events and Attractions

Now The Fun Begins: Honda Classic Boasts PGA Tour's Strongest Field To Date

The PGA Tour Honda Classic since the creation of the FedExCup in '07 has "turned into one of the best events of the season," according to Hank Gola of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. The event not long ago was the "least prominent event on the PGA Tour's Florida swing," but that has changed "since the Players was moved to May and many of the players themselves moved" to the Palm Beach County area. Seven of the top 10 players in the world rankings are scheduled to play when the tournament tees off tomorrow, including Phil Mickelson making his debut at the event (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/23). GOLF WORLD's Tim Rosaforte reports Tiger Woods added the tournament to his schedule in '12 after moving to the area, but getting a commitment from Mickelson may be a "bigger get because of his allegiance to the West Coast swing." The revived Honda Classic has "grown exponentially from 2007 (two top-10 players, 40,000 spectators) to 2013 (five and 168,000)." One of the biggest changes was the event moving to PGA National in '08. Tournament Exec Dir Ken Kennerly was able to create "a party atmosphere, positioning hospitality areas" near the course's signature Bear Trap. He also extended invitations to Darren Clarke and a then 19-year-old Rory McIlroy in '09. With Ernie Els' win over Luke Donald in '08 and the "endorsement of Clarke and McIlroy, more Europeans started playing the Honda as a bridge between the WGC events in Arizona and Miami" (GOLF WORLD, 3/3 issue). NBC's Johnny Miller, who will call the tournament, said, "With all the guys living around this area, Honda has become just a premier event" (PALM BEACH POST, 2/25).

GO WEST, YOUNG MEN? GOLF DIGEST's Ron Sirak noted with both the Honda Classic and WGC-Cadillac Championship having gained in stature in recent years, the West Coast swing has "lost" its prominence. Mickelson played "three times on the eight-event Hawaii-California-Arizona leg of the schedule" this year, the most of any of the top six ranked golfers. Woods, McIlroy and Henrik Stenson only played in one tournament each, and Woods, Mickelson and Adam Scott skipped last week's WGC-Accenture Match Play event. Sirak wrote the West Coast swing "has been hurt by the success of the PGA Tour." The creation of the WGC events in '99 "was a boost for the Left Coast because it got the Match Play," but Doral "was given WGC status and the FedEx Cup was created" in '07. Sirak: "Suddenly, between the WGC, FedEx, The Players and the majors, the best had a lot of their dance card filled" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 2/25). In California, Larry Bohannan wrote it is "easy to see that the West Coast swing has suffered from the backloading of the PGA Tour schedule." Some players, especially Woods and Mickelson, "played more golf on the West Coast swing before the FedEx Cup and even into the first few years of the FedEx Cup than they do now" (Palm Springs DESERT NEWS, 2/25).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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