Honda Classic reminds me of Pappy

When my editor told me in May 2015 I’d be helping cover a professional golf tournament, my reaction was some mix of shock and fear.

I’ve written about a diversity of topics, but I knew next to nothing about golf. I associated it with the sport on TV in the background while I napped — begrudgingly then — at my grandparents’ house as a little girl.

Now, I’m grateful to cover the Honda Classic for two reasons:

■ I don’t actually write about the golf. I leave the heavy-lifting to the Post’s sports writers and stick to the news and feature stories.

■ It helped me connect with the memory of my grandfather who died of his third heart attack when I was 11. There are few things I associate with him more than his faith, feeding pretzels to the neighbors’ dog and golf.

I spent a couple of days at PGA National during the Sarah Peters Honda Classic last year, too. But for some reason, being at this year’s tournament evoked my grandfather’s memory even more.

When I think of him, I often associate him with long nights I spent sitting outside his ICU room while he was hooked up to all kinds of machines and tubes after his second heart attack. Five-year-olds, technically, were too young to go into ICU rooms.

Being at the Honda Classic, though, helps me associate my Pappy’s memory with happy thoughts of the sunny days he spent on the golf course instead. He wasn’t a great golfer, my dad tells me, but he enjoyed the challenge and being outside.

His heart quit before he quit golfing.

“He never gave it up. He died before he stopped,” my dad told me.

It turns out one of his favorite golfers, Jack Nicklaus, and I now share a ZIP code. Even sweeter, the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation that Jack and wife Barbara founded in 2004 is the primary beneficiary of the charitable arm of the Honda Classic.

Sometimes, my grandfather played golf with friends from work, sometimes he played with a friend from the neighborhood and other times, he played with his pastor friend.

Just like the Honda Classic is for me, it wasn’t really about the golf. It was about the people and their stories.

Now that I’m older I can appreciate the sport, too. It requires a concentration and mental sharpness few other athletic endeavors do. I enjoy seeing golfers around my age be among the top 10 in the world.

Maybe one of these days, I’ll even face down my fears and learn to play. I’m sure my grandfather will be watching over me.