The winner has either been a favorite or a longshot in 13 of the past 15 years. Part of the reason for the disparity in winners is that this tournament is one of the most volatile events on the Tour. Famous for its 15 holes with water danger. PGA National will favor golfers with a balance of short game and ball-striking who can avoid penalty areas, scramble for pars, and manage any windy conditions. It plays similarly to a major tournament and favors those players who demonstrate patience. As past champion, Keith Mitchell<\/a><\/span> remarked, “You\u2019ve got to stay so patient. A lot of times par is a good score. I don\u2019t think you can play aggressively out here. If you do, I think it will eat you because this golf course is tough.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Success here will also depend highly upon the player’s ability to navigate the closing stretch of intimidating holes, which is famously known as the \u201cBear Trap\u201d. The 15th and 17th holes are long par-3s over water, while the 16th is a forced layup to another approach shot over water.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The Cognizant Classic provides the last opportunity for players to qualify for next week’s Signature event, the Arnold Palmer<\/a><\/span> Invitational. Even though this event has not drawn the deepest of fields in the past, we have seen numerous high-profile winners including Sungjae Im<\/a><\/span>, Justin Thomas<\/a><\/span>, Rickie Fowler<\/a><\/span>, Adam Scott<\/a><\/span>, Russell Henley<\/a><\/span>, and Rory McIlroy<\/a><\/span>. This year, however, one of the deepest fields in recent memory will assemble on the west Florida coast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The field for this year\u2019s Honda Classic is set at 144 golfers and includes five of the top-22 and 16 of the top-50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. Headliners included Shane Lowry<\/a><\/span>, Sungjae Im<\/a><\/span>, Russell Henley<\/a><\/span>, Sepp Straka<\/a><\/span>, Brian Harman<\/a><\/span>, Cameron Young<\/a><\/span>, and Jordan Spieth<\/a><\/span>. Austin Eckroat<\/a><\/span> returns to defend his title after putting on a ball-striking clinic last year gaining a combined 9.4 strokes off the tee and on approach. Other past winners in the field include Straka, Im, Henley, Chris Kirk<\/a><\/span>, Keith Mitchell<\/a><\/span>, Rickie Fowler<\/a><\/span>, Camilo Villegas<\/a><\/span>, and Matt Kuchar<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Designed by Tom and George Fazio, the Champion course at PGA National first opened in November of 1981. It was built with the specific purpose of hosting major tournament play and has become the home course for this event since 2007. The course has lived up to its purpose as it has hosted the 1983 Ryder Cup, the 1987 PGA Championship, and the Senior PGA Championship from 1982-2000.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe Field<\/h2>\r\n
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<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nPGA National (Champion) – History<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n