The Honda Classic concluded today and we were treated to an amazing day of golf! It was one of the most unpredictable final rounds ever and the winner was truly The Bear Trap at PGA National, with players dropping shots left and right through that stretch of the golf course. Rory McIlroy really hit the ball well this week and led after every round at the Honda Classic. He started the final round with a 2 shot lead and was 13-under par after 6 holes, but by the 18th though, he was 7-under for the tournament and 5-over on the day, one back of the leaders Russell Henley, Ryan Palmer and Russell Knox at 8-under.
Feeling the heat on 18, McIlroy ripped a drive down the middle of the fairway and hit maybe the best shot of the tournament – from 245 yards away, he sticks his 5-wood to about 11 feet, setting up an eagle putt, which was very reminiscence of Tiger Woods at the 18th hole during the 2012 Honda Classic! He would just miss the eagle putt, but birdied the hole to get into a playoff. How different a year makes after walking off the course last year with a sore wisdom tooth.
Russell Henley, grouped with McIlroy, also drove the ball at the 18th beautifully down the fairway, but he would mishit his 2nd shot left of the green into the rough. He would then chunk his chip and all hopes to win the tournament with a birdie ended. What he needed to do would be to par the hole to stay at 8-under par to ensure he gets into a playoff, which he did. McIlroy, Henley, Palmer and Knox would return to the 18 for the first playoff hole.
It wouldn’t go past one playoff hole though as Russell Henley was the only player to birdie the 18th and win the 2014 Honda Classic. This was Henley’s 2nd PGA Tour victory, his first being the Sony Open in Hawaii last January, in a season where he has not finished better than 27th in his 9 starts in 2014. This is his second victory in 35 starts and he becomes just 1 of 4 players under 25 with two or more wins in their career – Rory McIlroy (6), Harris English (2), Patrick Reed (2) and RUssell Henley (2). That’s two Nike Golf athletes and two Callaway Golf pros for you! The PGA Tour is certainly young and talented! We’re now looking forward to the WGC-Cadillac Championship next week at Doral!
Source: The Honda Classic
