Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Honda Classic
Adam Scott to defend his title.
PALM BEACH GARDENS — The Bear Trap always takes center stage during the Honda Classic, and for good reason.
Since the tournament moved to the Champion course at PGA National Resort & Spa in 2007, the Bear Trap’s 15th, 16th and 17th make up the third-toughest three-hole stretch on the PGA Tour, with players averaging .641 strokes over par.
But as defending Honda champion Adam Scott points out, the rest of the par-70 layout can easily ruin your round, and your psyche.
“PGA National is a bit of a brute, if you can call it that, if that’s OK,” Scott said during phone interview last week. “It’s set up incredibly fairly for us every year and we find it hard to get to double digits under par. It’s very demanding, not just the Bear Trap but many other holes have quite subtle challenges that make it difficult for us.
“The Bear Trap, you’ve already survived by the time you’ve got around there. Five is an incredibly difficult golf hole and if your confidence gets knocked early, I even think holes like three, if you miss the fairway it’s very difficult to hit the green and it’s very difficult pitching around that green. The round can get away from you quickly, early.”
Scott’s claim is supported by statistics. The 217-yard par-3 fifth, the 479-yard par-5 sixth, which plays as a par 4 for the Honda,
and the 226-yard par-3 seventh make up the Tour’s fourth-hardest three-hole stretch over the past 10 years at .618 over par.
Holes 16-18 at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C., are the hardest at .916 followed by holes 8-10 at Pebble Beach at .706.
Scott, 36, of Australia, said having played the Champion course many times helped keep him out of trouble for much of last year’s tournament..
“With holes like the Bear Trap and many others at PGA National, which are so demanding, I think the experience … just helps you get around the course,” he said. “You don’t have to attack every hole, but you also can’t play defensive on some of them, either. I think of some of the long, tough par-4s demand quality shots and there’s no bailout on them either, otherwise you get in a lot of trouble. Maybe a wise old head helped us get around last year.”
Scott started last year’s final round tied with Sergio Garcia and shot a 70 on Sunday for a 9-under-par 271 total and a one-shot victory over the Spaniard.
Until he got to the Bear Trap on Saturday afternoon, Scott had a threeshot lead over Garcia.
Seven under par for his first 13 holes that day, Scott hit two balls in the water at the 179-yard par-3 15th for a quadruple-bogey 7. That gave Garcia a one-shot lead, but Scott birdied the 190-yard 17th and finished with a 66.
Scott said he’s had his troubles at the Bear Trap, where a total of 1,073 balls have found the water since 2007.
“Somehow [I] managed to hang on and come back from a bit of a disaster there last year,” he said. “It is just really brutal. There’s just no bailout on the two par-3s and nowhere really good to go except on the green.
“It’s one of those moments in a round of a tournament where you just have to hit a good shot and show everyone what you’re made of and come up with the goods. I think it’s really exciting for everyone to watch that because most of the time, it’s a mid-iron and it certainly raises the heart rate for all the players who are in contention.”
When he returned to the Bear Trap in the final round of last year’s tournament, Scott said he didn’t have any negative thoughts.
“Fortunately for me at that point last year, I was swinging the club so well, my mind was in a good spot,” he said. “To bounce back from a bit of a disaster on the 15th hole Saturday and then two holes later hit a great shot at 17 and make a birdie certainly put those disappointing thoughts out of my mind.
“Then 24 hours later I was right in the thick of it with Sergio and the circumstances when I got on the 15th tee were so much easier than the day before, because the wind was a little bit different and I had that confidence still to put it out of my mind and just play a good shot.
“I was really lucky that I was swinging well. If I was swinging poorly, it might have been a whole different thing. It was just a case of unfortunately hitting a bad shot at the wrong time on Saturday.”
The victory meant a lot to Scott, and not just because it was his first win using a short putter. Scott switched from his long putter after golf’s governing bodies banned anchoring as of Jan. 1 last year.
“I think winning the Honda has turned into something pretty special for the players ever since it’s moved to PGA National,” Scott said. “It’s turned it into one of the premium events on the PGA Tour.
“The golf course is just so demanding. For me, winning around such a difficult test, especially the last few holes … to hold on under that kind of pressure is incredibly rewarding.”