Round 4 - Justin Thomas wins Honda Classic in playoff

February 25, 2018

American Justin Thomas rolled in a birdie on the first hole of a playoff to out-duel third round leader Luke List and win the PGA Tour's Honda Classic on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Thomas posted his eighth win on the USPGA Tour and his seventh victory in his last 31 tournaments.

"It was another level of difficulty, not only the amount of people I was trying to beat, but this golf course," said Thomas.

"I am so proud of myself and how I played. When you get out of position you have to try to salvage par and that's what I did.

"I just stayed patient. I know what to expect, how tough it can be, and it feels good to come out on top."

Thomas closed with a two-under 68 to catch 54-hole leader List, who had a one-under 69. They both finished with an eight-under 272 total at the PGA National course.

Sweden's Alex Noren shot a three-under 67 to finish alone in third, just one stroke back of the leaders. England's Tommy Fleetwood placed fourth after shooting a 69 to reach six-under 274 total, two shots adrift of Thomas and List.

Tiger Woods fired an even-par 70 in the fourth round for an even-par 280 total to land in 12th place.

Thomas hit a beautiful approach shot on the only hole of the playoff as his ball sailed over a bunker and landed on the green giving him a long downhill putt for birdie.

His first putt stopped four feet (1.2 meters) short but he made no mistake on the second putt for the victory that will move him into number three in the world rankings.

American List got into trouble off the tee as his drive on 18 went right and landed in the middle of a small cluster of trees. His next shot sailed way left over the gallery and into the grandstand fence. He two-putted for a par.

"It is going to sting a little bit," said List. "In a playoff, you can't give Justin a par because he is going to hit birdies."

Thomas' final round was not without controversy. He tried to have a spectator removed on the 16th tee for heckling him and then had to apologize after the tournament for using a four-letter word on the green at 18 when he made the winning putt live on television.

"I feel pretty terrible and uncomfortable. Everybody heard that," Thomas said.

Woods followed his 69 in the third round with a 70 on Sunday to finish eight shots back of the top spot on the difficult Florida golf course.

Saturday's 69 was the first score in the 60s in nine rounds this year for the 14-time major winner, who returned to US PGA Tour competition late January at Torrey Pines after back problems.

"I made a big leap this week. I really hit it well," said Woods, the former world number one.

Woods finished with four birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey on Sunday. He says his game and his problematic back are starting to feel good again and the key is to maintain his rigorous fitness routine.

"I played well this week," he said. "Overall I am very pleased with the progress I have made.

"My body feels good. I need to keep it feeling good. I need to get back in the gym and keep it strong."

Earlier this month, Woods told a Los Angeles television station that the extended time off, due to injuries, has given him a new appreciation for golf fans.

"I have been home a lot. I haven't been able to move much the last three months. So many people have just wished me well," he said.

"I have been away from the game for a long enough time that I saw a side of the public I didn't know."

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Round 3 - List takes lead, Tiger fires 69

February 24, 2018

Tiger Woods fired a one-under par 69 in the third round of the Honda Classic on Saturday, and said the first sub-70 round of his comeback gives him a shot at leader Luke List.

List carded a four-under par 66 at PGA National for a seven-under par total of 203.

Woods, seven shots back on even par 210, insisted he wasn't out of the running on the demanding course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

"I put myself where I've got a shot going into tomorrow," Woods said. "I'm going to have to shoot something under par for sure. If I can go ahead and post a number early, you just never know."

The 14-time major champion notched his first score in the 60s in nine rounds this year.

In fact, it's his first score in the 60s on the US PGA Tour since he carded a 68 in the third round of the 2015 Wyndham Championship.

Since then, debilitating back trouble had seen Woods largely sidelined. He missed all of 2016 before an abortive comeback bid in 2017 ended with spinal fusion surgery last April.

So far in his latest comeback he's finished tied for 23rd at Torrey Pines and missed the cut last week in Los Angeles.

But Saturday's round had him feeling optimistic.

"That's probably the highest score I could have shot today," Woods said. "I really hit it good."

Woods who hit nine of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation.

"The hard part has been trying to get the ball to go in the hole," Woods said. "These greens are a little tricky."

Woods made his first birdie at the eighth, where he was in the fairway off the tee and struck his approach within six feet. The birdie putt him just three shots off the lead.

After he was unable to convert birdie chances at 10 and 11, he rolled in a 20-footer to save par at the 12th.

He drained a 14-footer for birdie at 13, but was in the rough off the tee at the par-three 15th and was unable to get up and down for par after his chip caught the fringe.

He missed the green en route to a bogey at 17, but rebounded with a birdie on the par-five 18th despite finding a fairway bunker off the tee.

List seized sole possession of the lead with a birdie from a greenside bunker at the par-five 18th -- rebounding from a bogey at 17.

His second straight 66 put him one stroke in front of reigning PGA Champion Justin Thomas and former US Open winner Webb Simpson.

Thomas's five-under 65 was a seven-stroke improvement on his second-round 72. Simpson, who also shot 72 on Friday, carded a 66.

"The course played a fair bit easier, not as much wind," said Thomas, who had four of his six birdies on PGA National's tough back nine. "I'm playing real well, I just had a little more to show for it today."

Round 2 - Lovemark & List take lead, Tiger 4 behind

February 23, 2018

Tiger Woods was in the thick of things Friday after a one-over par 71 at windy PGA National left him four shots off the Honda Classic halfway lead held by Luke List and Jamie Lovemark.

Former world number one Woods, playing the third tournament of his latest comeback bid, shook off an early bogey with two birdies on the front nine.

He had moved into the top 10 with five pars to open the back nine before his tee shot at the par-three 15th found the water.

He walked away with a double-bogey and surrendered another shot at the 16th, where his long birdie attempt went past the hole.

But he rallied with a birdie at the par-three 17th -- the hardest hole on the course -- where he found the middle of the green with his tee shot and drained his 12-foot birdie putt to a massive roar from the gallery.

Woods's one-over total of 141 put him in a group of 10 players sharing 14th place.

List had posted an early target, firing a 66 for 137. He was joined on three-under by Lovemark, who carded a 69.

List had five birdies and a bogey in his four-under effort, which was the lowest round of the day.

Only 10 players were under par for the tournament through 36 holes.

"I'm really pleased with the way I played -- a bunch of pars and just kind of hanging on," List said. "This golf course is winning this week so far, and I think whoever hangs on the hardest is going to come out on top on Sunday."

The leaders, both seeking a first US PGA Tour title, were one stroke in front of Webb Simpson (72), Russell Henley (70), Rory Sabbatini (69) and Tommy Fleetwood (68).

The halfway cut fell at five-over par, and those who missed it included defending champion Rickie Fowler.

Four-time major-winner Rory McIlroy made it after firing his second straight two-over 72.

Woods said his spot four off the pace put him "right in the ball game."

"It was a good grind today," said the 42-year-old 14-time major champion, who is vying to become a contender again after spinal fusion surgery in April.

"I feel like I'm right there. I'm right where I can win a golf tournament. Four back on this golf course with 36 holes to go? Anybody can win this golf tournament right now. It's wide open."

Woods had struggled off the tee in finishing tied for 23rd at Torrey Pines last month and in missing the cut at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles last week.

On Friday, he found eight of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens in regulation.

After a 361-yard drive at the 10th, he missed a nine-foot birdie try. At 11, he rolled in a 12-foot par-saving putt and he got up and down for par from greenside bunkers at 13 and 14.

Round 1 - Noren & Simpson take opening lead on windy day in Florida

February 22, 2018

Alex Noren and Webb Simpson defied difficult blustery winds to lead the US PGA Tour's Honda Classic on Thursday as Tiger Woods said he was "very pleased" with an even par 70.

Noren and Simpson both carded four-under par 66 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where only 20 players broke par.

Although he didn't manage to join that group, Woods called it the best ball-striking round of his latest comeback, which has included a tie for 23rd at Torrey Pines last month and a missed cut at Riviera in Los Angeles last week.

"I'm very pleased," said the 14-time major champion, who had three birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey.

"Today was not easy. It's going to get more difficult because these greens are not the best. It was tough all around today.

"The wind was playing really hard, the rough's up and it's really tough to make putts out there."

Nevertheless, Woods matched his best opening round in four appearances at PGA National.

His decision to play in Florida this week marks his first attempt at back-to-back tournaments since 2015 as he vies to become a contender again in the wake of spinal fusion surgery last April.

Woods teed off on the 10th and had two birdies and a bogey in his first nine holes.

At the par-five third he hit his approach shot into a greenside bunker en route to a double bogey.

"One bad hole today," Woods said. "That's the way it goes."

He responded immediately with a birdie, splitting the fairway at the sixth with a two-iron and draining a six-foot putt.

"I felt like I had good touch, but more importantly, I made a lot of the key short putts for par," Woods said. "It was really tough. Some of those putts were a little bit bouncy."

Noren, a nine-time winner on the European Tour, who fell to Jason Day in a marathon playoff at Torrey Pines, grabbed the last of his five birdies at his final hole, the par-four ninth to be the first in the clubhouse on 66.

"I played quite steady my front nine, which was the back nine, then I just scrambled my way around the front nine," Noren said. "This was by far my best putting and chipping round of the season."

Simpson had three of his five birdies on the front nine. His last came at the tough par-three 17th, where he rolled in a 30-footer to bounce back from his only bogey of the day.

"I'm definitely excited to get a good round under my belt," Simpson said

Former British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, reigning USPGA Champion Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger and Mackenzie Hughes were a stroke off the lead on 67, with Dominic Bozzelli, Jamie Lovemark, Russell Henley and Ben Crane tied on 68.

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