News

Let the Florida Swing begin! Honda Classic preview

Published

14 years ago

Mar 1, 2012

Michael Williams

By Michael Williams

Special to GolfWRX

The PGA Tour begins its Florida Swing with the 2012 Honda Classic at PGA National Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Defending Champion Rory Sabbatini will be joined in the field by past winners Camilo Villegas, Y.E. Yang, Mark Wilson and Justin Leonard. Six of the eight players who share the single-round record 64 (Padraig Harrington, Anthony Kim, Justin Rose, Stephen Ames, Mike Weir and Greaeme McDowell) will also bring positive memories to the 7,158 yard, par-70 layout. The stellar field also includes Tiger Woods for the first time in his storied career, along with major champions Rory McIlroy and Keegan Bradley competing for a $1 million first prize and 500 FedEx Cup points.

There have been plenty of fireworks on Tour so far, and the sparks flew early this week in the pre-tournament interviews. Woods had a testy exchange with Golfweek senior writer and Golf Channel contributor Alex Miceli, who asked Woods about a passage in Hank Haney’s new book about his time as Woods’ instructor. The terse words seemed to reflect the frustration that Woods has experienced in the young season, failing to close multiple opportunities to win with less than stellar performances on Sunday. Woods has especially been plagued by poor putting, missing more meaningful 5 –footers in the past month than he would miss in entire past seasons.

One of the keys to victory will be the ability to make the transition to the Bermuda grass that is prevalent in the courses in the Southeast United States. That fact, in addition to learning greens that he is competing on for the first time, are obstacles facing Woods as he sets out to garner what would be his 72^nd PGA title. For his part, Woods feels that he is close to a solution, estimating that the fix would take “a day.”

“I had to go back to putting in the reps, and I did,” Woods said. “I worked on just going back to my old basics with my dad, and some of the things that he taught me.”

McIlroy will also be seeking a bit of redemption, having been denied the World’s No. 1 ranking due to his loss to Hunter Mahan in the finals of the WGC-Accenture World Match Play Championship last week. McIlroy didn’t have his most consistent week of golf but managed to put together bunches of birdies at the right times to oust his opponents. His most dominant moment came in his semi-final victory against Lee Westwood, where he birdied seven out of the last 10 holes. In his press conference, McIlroy discussed handling the pressure of being in the spotlight week after week in his quest to be No. 1.

“The friends that I have, have known me my whole life,” McIlroy said. “That’s what you need, someone who has a sense of humor [about you].”

McIlroy also put his own sense of humor on display, describing a chance meeting with three-time Honda Classic winner Jack Nicklaus, who was not wearing his glasses and couldn’t initially recognize McIlroy. Nicklaus has praised McIlroy as being “humble when he needs to be humble and confident when he needs to be confident.” McIlroy commented that, “It’s very nice to hear the kind words, but you still have to go out and play some good golf.”

Other players to watch in the field include Johnson Wagner, Mark Wilson and Kyle Stanley, all having already notched victories in the 2012 campaign.

Play will be televised by The Golf Channel on Thursday – Friday, with coverage moving to NBC for the weekend.

Check local listings for air times.

Click here for more discussion in the “Tour Talk” forum

Michael Williams is the contributing editor of Newschannel8 Capital Golf Weekly and Bunkershot.com, as well as a member of the Golf Writers Association of America.

You can follow Michael on twitter — @Michaelontv

News

GolfWRX’s Father’s Day Gift Guide (2026)

Published

1 day ago

Jun 9, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

A reminder from your friends at GolfWRX: Father’s Day is June 21. And as we do every year, we’re rounding up the best gifts for dad.

As we say every year, there’s no better golf-related Father’s Day gift than a round of golf with pops. Be it a country club or your favorite muni, take the time to get together to play 18 if you can.

Let’s get to the gifts.

Ghost Golf Qualifier Diamond Polo

We like the new polos that Ghost is offering, as the fabric and fit are so good. These new Qualifier Collection polos breathe well, are lightweight, stretch with your swing, and of course look great. You can wear them on the course, in the office, or just out at a casual event and they will fit right in.

Buy here.

STR8-Strip Grip Tape Remover

If your dad is an equipment aficionado and tinkers with his clubs, this tool works wonders. Removing grip tape has never been easier, just put a little head on the tape and the STR8-Strip peals it right off the shaft without any damage.

Buy here.

Why Golf: Putting Thing

When it comes to practice, it is good to have a purpose. This “Putting Thing” sure does it. We know from personal experience how challenging it can be and how rewarding it is on the practice green. This also provides some competition for your kiddo to see who will unload the dishwasher or do the next chore around the house.

Buy here.

OluKai Lae‘ahi Men’s Breathable Slip-On Shoes

Riding to and from the course in style and comfort is always a good thing. If you’re in a hurry, it’s a nice feature to slide into your shoes and get to the tee time. For the post-game shoe, at your locker or while putting your clubs away in the car. Nice to slide into a shoe that looks good anywhere. Pair that with meeting the family for dinner, no need to change!

Buy here.

Therabody Theragun Relief

A little wellness goes a long way. Keeping loose is a good way to go when it comes to the weekend game or treatment during the week. If there is a little ache or pain, the Theragun is there to help out. Help loosen up the back for a pre-game warm-up or cool-down.

Buy here.

World Cup golf apparel

Something for the soccer dads. Embrace the World Cup fever this summer on the course with custom gear to support the nation of your choice.

Buy here.

FootJoy Pro SL spikeless golf shoes

Give the old man a break and save his feet with the Footjoy Pro SL Men’s Spikeless Golf Shoes for some added comfort on the course.

Buy here.

Bushnell Wingman 2 GPS speaker

Combine all the hits as well as some game improvement with the Wingman 2 Golf GPS Speaker by getting audible distance readings from 38,000+ courses worldwide through the Wingman 2 remote or speaker.

Buy here.

Personalized Titleist Pro V1 golf balls

The No. 1 ball in golf is a safe bet, and the Pro V1 fits the largest chunk of the bell curve if you don’t know what ball pops plays. Add personalization for a, well, personal touch!

Buy here.

GolfWRX may earn a commission for purchases made through links on this page, at no extra cost to you.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 OccuNet Classic

Published

2 days ago

Jun 9, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

With the PGA Tour across the border in Canada this week, GolfWRX Tour Photographer Greg Moore stayed stateside and headed to the OccuNet Classic presented by Amarillo National Bank in Amarillo, Texas.

It’s always interesting to see what the guys are playing on the KFT, and this week certainly hasn’t disappointed so far, with some incredible wedge stamping on display.

Check out links to all our albums below.

General Albums

2026 OccuNet Classic (KFT) – Monday #1

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

Luke Potter’s custom Cameron putter – 2026 OccuNet Classic (KFT)

News

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Scotty Cameron GOLO 6 with BGT Stability Tour2 2022 M Edition

Published

2 days ago

Jun 9, 2026

Will Schube

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @HuskerFlyer is sharing a Scotty Cameron GOLO with a BGT Stability Tour2 2022 M Edition shaft. While the putter is certainly enviable, the Augusta-inspired shaft is equally noteworthy.

From the listing:

Scotty Cameron Golo 6 with BGT Stability Tour2 2022 M Edition Scotty Headcover 34″ $375

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules.