The PGA Tour schedule returns to the East Coast and for the first time in 2023 for The Honda Classic on The Champion Course at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. to kick off the Florida Swing that will include events like the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship.
A wild West Coast Swing on the PGA Tour came to an end last week at The Genesis Invitational that saw Jon Rahm win for the third time this season in a span of seven weeks.
Rahm, who won his second elevated event of the 2022-23 season, took a two-shot victory over one of the hometown kids, Max Homa.
In addition to Rahm being in the spotlight, the tournament host and 15-time major winner Tiger Woods competed last week. Woods shot 1-under par for the tournament, which included a 4-under 67 in the third round on Saturday.
Related: Golf’s best react to the return of Tiger Woods at the Genesis Invitational
This was Woods’ first event since The Open Championship last July and he completed four rounds for the first time since last year’s Masters Tournament.
Although some of the top players are not playing this week, the stretch of high-quality golf courses continue at PGA National, which is a par-70 course for 7,125 yards.
As much as the final three holes at TPC Scottsdale, which hosts the WM Phoenix Open, is challenging, a three-hole stretch at PGA National is even tougher.
With water in play on 15 of the 18 holes throughout the course, holes 15, 16 and 17 challenge the field even more. Also known as the bear trap — because the course was restored by 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus — there are two par-3s and a par-4 that can easily change the scorecard among the three-hole stretch.
What channel is The Honda Classic on?
The Honda Classic will be televised between NBC and the Golf Channel.
Television schedule for The Honda Classic.
| Round | Date | Time (PT) | TV |
| 1 | Thursday, Feb. 23 | 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| 2 | Friday, Feb. 24 | 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| 3 | Saturday, Feb. 25 | 10:00 p.m. – 12:00 p.m. 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Golf Channel NBC |
| 4 | Sunday, Feb. 26 | 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Golf Channel NBC |
Other coverage for The Honda Classic
In addition to NBC and the Golf Channel, The Honda Classic will also be broadcast on ESPN+ and Peacock. PGA Tour Live for the marquee and featured groups can be exclusively found on ESPN+. The featured holes on ESPN+ will be the par-3 5th, par-3 7th, par-3 15th and the par-3 17th.
The Honda Classic will also be on the airwaves of Sirius XM.
Thursday, Feb. 23 (Round 1)
ESPN+: 3:45 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. PT
Peacock: 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. PT
Sirius XM: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. PT
Friday, Feb. 24 (Round 2)
ESPN+: 3:45 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. PT
Peacock: 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. PT
Sirius XM: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. PT
Saturday, Feb. 25 (Round 3)
ESPN+: 3:45 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. PT
Peacock: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PT
Sirius XM: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. PT
Sunday, Feb. 26 (Round 4)
ESPN+: 3:45 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. PT
Peacock: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PT
Sirius XM: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. PT
How much are tickets for The Honda Classic?
Tickets to walk the ground for The Honda Classic are at least $70 per day. Goslings Bear Trap gives you access at the heart of The Bear Trap overlooking the 16th green and the 17th tee box.
There are three different clubs and hospitality venues this week for The Honda Classic. The Waterfront Club and the Champions Club both cost $335 while the Legends Club costs $650.
Children ages 15 and under are admitted free when accompanied by a ticket adult and Citi Cardmembers receive 10% off on tickets.
Payout for the 2023 Honda Classic
The total purse for the event is set for $8.4 million and the winner will receive $1.5 million.
Who are some of the top golfers in The Honda Classic?
The players who finished in the top two spots return to The Honda Classic this week. Sepp Straka won this event last year for his first PGA Tour victory in a one-shot victory over Shane Lowry.
The two captains in the upcoming Ryder Cup are also competing this week. Zach Johnson for Team USA and Luke Donald for Team Europe are teeing it up this week.
On the younger side, Pierceson Coody, who followed the success of former Texas Longhorns like Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler, is making his PGA Tour debut as a professional. Coody worked his way through the Korn Ferry Tour winning in his third start and led the PGA Tour U rankings.
5 players who can hoist Honda Classic trophy on Sunday
Shane Lowry
The Irishman, who was the runner-up last year recorded three 4-under 67s on Friday, Saturday and Sunday last year and the consistency will pay dividends this week on a tough course.
The key for Lowry will be making quality shots as he is around the top 30 on the PGA Tour in both strokes gained tee to green and strokes gained off the tee.
Adam Svensson
Adam Svensson, who is the top ranked player in this year’s FedEx Cup Standings competing this week at No. 10, has experience at PGA National, similar to Matt Fitzpatrick at Brookline when he won the U.S. Open last June.
Svensson, who currently resides in the Palm Beach area and was victorious at The RSM classic a couple months ago, won the 2015 Korn Ferry Tour Q-School Finals at PGA National by seven strokes and is looking to jump to No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings with a victory.
Sungjae Im
Sungjae Im, who won this event in 2020, recorded two 4-under 66s to claim victory a few years ago. One of keys for Im and the rest of the field on a challenging course is how well players can get birdies and execute shots. This season, Im ranks 18th in strokes gained: tee to green and 14th in strokes gained total.
Billy Horschel
In five of last six times at PGA National, Billy Horschel has made the cut, highlighted by fourth and eighth place finishes in 2016 and 2017. Horschel has a couple of 16th place finishes in the last three years.
With four par-3s on the course, including two in The Bear Trap, the short holes will be crucial. Horschel, who’s won seven times on the PGA Tour, leads the tour in par three birdie percentage. He has made 23 birdies or better on 76 holes this season, good for a 30.26% clip, which ranks higher than Rahm and Homa.
Denny McCarthy
Denny McCarthy, who currently resides in nearby Jupiter, comes into this week fresh off of a top 15 last week at The Genesis Invitational, which was highlighted by his 7-under 64 on Saturday.
McCarthy, who has a top-10 finish at the event two years ago, has been able to compete at some tough courses this year with a fourth place finish at Pebble Beach in addition to last week’s top-15 finish at Riviera.
The Honda Classic pairings
Round 1 tee times (Thursday; all times PT)
3:50 a.m.
Tee #1: Dylan Frittelli, Sean O’Hair, Ben Griffin | Tee #10: Brice Garnett, Davis Riley, Ben Taylor
4:01 a.m.
Tee #1: Fabian Gomez, Mark Hubbard, Henrik Norlander | Tee #10: Sung Kang, Jason Dufner, S.H. Kim
4:12 a.m.
Tee #1: Brian Stuard, Rory Sabbatini, Jonathan Byrd | Tee #10: Joseph Bramlett, Will Gordon, Tyson Alexander
4:23 a.m.
Tee #1: Jim Herman, Andrew Landry, Tyler Duncan | Tee #10: J.T. Poston, Sepp Straka, Aaron Wise (Featured Group)
4:34 a.m.
Tee #1: Chad Ramey, Garrick Higgo, Brian Gay | Tee #10: Webb Simpson, Shane Lowry, Ryan Palmer (Marquee Group)
4:45 a.m.
Tee #1: Charley Hoffman, Kramer Hickok, Robby Shelton | Tee #10: Billy Horschel, Jhonattan Vegas, Camilo Villegas (Featured Group)
4:56 a.m.
Tee #1: Martin Trainer, Ryan Armour, Grayson Murray | Tee #10: Kevin Tway, Ben Crane, Adam Schenk
5:07 a.m.
Tee #1: Kyle Stanley, Hayden Buckley, Kevin Chappell | Tee #10: Jonas Blixt, Geoff Ogilvy, Zac Blair
5:18 a.m.
Tee #1: Greg Chalmers, Chesson Hadley, Max McGreevy | Tee #10: David Lingmerth, S.Y. Noh, Greyson Sigg
5:29 a.m.
Tee #1: Michael Gligic, Augusto Nunez, Adrian Meronk | Tee #10: Austin Eckroat, Carl Yuan, Andrew Kozan
5:40 a.m.
Tee #1: Scott Harrington, Kevin Westmoreland, Parker Coody | Tee #10: Nick Hardy, Paul Haley II, Tyler Collet
5:51 a.m.
Tee #1: Harry Higgs, Brandon Matthews, Pierceson Coody | Tee #10: Andrew Novak, Tano Goya, Brett Drewitt
8:45 a.m.
Tee #1: Jimmy Walker, Arjun Atwal, Matt Wallace | Tee #10: Austin Cook, Denny McCarthy, Hank Lebioda
8:56 a.m.
Tee #1: Satoshi Kodaira, Bill Haas, Min Woo Lee | Tee #10: Ben Martin, Scott Brown, Lee Hodges
9:07 a.m.
Tee #1: William McGirt, Peter Malnati, Thomas Detry | Tee #10: Michael Kim, Cody Gribble, Cameron Percy
9:18 a.m.
Tee #1: Zach Johnson, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald (Featured Group) | Tee #10: Ryan Brehm, Robert Streb, Richy Werenski
9:29 a.m.
Tee #1: Adam Svensson, Sungjae Im, Matt Kuchar (Marquee Group) | Tee #10: J.B. Holmes, Adam Long, Chris Kirk
9:40 a.m.
Tee #1: Erik van Rooyen, Cam Davis, Harris English (Featured Group) | Tee #10: Russell Knox, Danny Willett, Doc Redman
9:51 a.m.
Tee #1: Chris Stroud, Byeong Hun An, Christiaan Bezuidenhout | Tee #10: Ryan Moore, Kelly Kraft, Stephan Jaeger
10:02 a.m.
Tee #1: Aaron Baddeley, Brandon Wu, Callum Tarren | Tee #10: Taylor Pendrith, Matthias Schwab, Justin Suh
10:13 a.m.
Tee #1: Harrison Endycott, Brent Grant, Kevin Roy | Tee #10: Harry Hall, Eric Cole, Trevor Cone
10:24 a.m.
Tee #1: MJ Daffue, Vincent Norrman, Ben Silverman | Tee #10: Aaron Rai, Anders Albertson, Ryan Gerard
10:35 a.m.
Tee #1: Erik Barnes, Matti Schmid, Curtis Thompson | Tee #10: Dylan Wu, Trevor Werbylo, Marcus Byrd
10:46 a.m.
Tee #1: Sam Stevens, Nico Echavarria, Trace Crowe | Tee #10: Zechang Dou, Carson Young, Akshay Bhatia
Round 2 tee times (Friday; all times PT)
3:50 a.m.
Tee #1: Austin Cook, Denny McCarthy, Hank Lebioda | Tee #10: Jimmy Walker, Arjun Atwal, Matt Wallace
4:01 a.m.
Tee #1: Ben Martin, Scott Brown, Lee Hodges | Tee #10: Satoshi Kodaira, Bill Haas, Min Woo Lee
4:12 a.m.
Tee #1: Michael Kim, Cody Gribble, Cameron Percy | Tee #10: William McGirt, Peter Malnati, Thomas Detry
4:23 a.m.
Tee #1: Ryan Brehm, Robert Streb, Richy Werenski | Tee #10: Zach Johnson, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald (Featured Group)
4:34 a.m.
Tee #1: J.B. Holmes, Adam Long, Chris Kirk | Tee #10: Adam Svensson, Sungjae Im, Matt Kuchar (Marquee Group)
4:45 a.m.
Tee #1: Russell Knox, Danny Willett, Doc Redman | Tee #10: Erik van Rooyen, Cam Davis, Harris English (Featured Group)
4:56 a.m.
Tee #1: Ryan Moore, Kelly Kraft, Stephan Jaeger | Tee #10: Chris Stroud, Byeong Hun An, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
5:07 a.m.
Tee #1: Taylor Pendrith, Matthias Schwab, Justin Suh | Tee #10: Aaron Baddeley, Brandon Wu, Callum Tarren
5:18 a.m.
Tee #1: Harry Hall, Eric Cole, Trevor Cone | Tee #10: Harrison Endycott, Brent Grant, Kevin Roy
5:29 a.m.
Tee #1: Aaron Rai, Anders Albertson, Ryan Gerard | Tee #10: MJ Daffue, Vincent Norrman, Ben Silverman
5:40 a.m.
Tee #1: Dylan Wu, Trevor Werbylo, Marcus Byrd | Tee #10: Erik Barnes, Matti Schmid, Curtis Thompson
5:51 a.m.
Tee #1: Zecheng Dou, Carson Young, Akshay Bhatia | Tee #10: Sam Stevens, Nico Echavarria, Trace Crowe
8:45 a.m.
Tee #1: Brice Garnett, Davis Riley, Ben Taylor | Tee #10: Dylan Frittelli, Sean O’Hair, Ben Griffin
8:56 a.m.
Tee #1: Sung Kang, Jason Dufner, S.H. Kim | Tee #10: Fabian Gomez, Mark Hubbard, Henrik Norlander
9:07 a.m.
Tee #1: Joseph Bramlett, Will Gordon, Tyson Alexander | Tee #10: Brian Stuard, Rory Sabbatini, Jonathan Byrd
9:18 a.m.
Tee #1: J.T. Poston, Sepp Straka, Aaron Wise (Featured Group) | Tee #10: Jim Herman, Andrew Landry, Tyler Duncan
9:29 a.m.
Tee #1: Webb Simpson, Shane Lowry, Ryan Palmer (Marquee Group) | Tee #10: Chad Ramey, Garrick Higgo, Brian Gay
9:40 a.m.
Tee #1: Billy Horschel, Jhonattan Vegas, Camilo Vegas (Featured Group) | Tee #10: Charley Hoffman, Kramer Hickok, Robby Shelton
9:51 a.m.
Tee #1: Kevin Tway, Ben Crane, Adam Schenk | Tee #10: Martin Trainer, Ryan Armour, Grayson Murray
10:02 a.m.
Tee #1: Jonas Blixt, Geoff Ogilvy, Zac Blair | Tee #10: Kyle Stanley, Hayden Buckley, Kevin Chappell
10:13 a.m.
Tee #1: David Lingmerth, S.Y. Noh, Greyson Sigg | Tee #10: Greg Chalmers, Chesson Hadley, Max McGreevy
10:24 a.m.
Tee #1: Austin Eckroat, Carl Yuan, Andrew Kozan | Tee #10: Michael Gligic, Augusto Nunez, Adrian Meronk
10:35 a.m.
Tee #1: Nick Hardy, Paul Haley II, Tyler Collet | Tee #10: Scott Harrington, Kyle Westmoreland, Parker Coody
10:46 a.m.
Tee #1: Andrew Novak, Tano Goya, Brett Drewitt | Tee #10: Harry Higgs, Brandon Matthews, Pierceson Coody