Honda Classic preview: Tiger Woods tries to rebound from missed cut at Riviera

Alec Brzezinski

Honda Classic preview: Tiger Woods tries to rebound from missed cut at Riviera image

The PGA Tour heads to Florida this week for the The Honda Classic, where Tiger Woods will make his third start of the season.

After finishing t23 at Torrey Pines, Woods struggled at Riviera, ultimately missing the cut. Woods will play alongside Brandt Snedeker and Patton Kizzire this week, as he tries to regain his old form after four back surgeries since 2014.

Tiger_Honda-Classic

Once considered one of the PGA Tour's weaker events, The Honda Classic now annually boasts an elite international field. With a strong European Tour contingent joining up with some of the PGA Tour's best, this week should be interesting.

The Course

PGA National is considered one of the most difficult venues on the PGA Tour's annual slate. The famed "Bear Trap" makes up a three-hole stretch (15-17) on the back nine with water hazards caressing every inch of the stretch. Holes 15 and 17 are considered among the most difficult par 3s on Tour.

Players who survive the Bear Trap get light at the end of the tunnel with the reachable par-5 18th, which has provided some fireworks in recent seasons.

Defending Champion

Rickie Fowler didn't have his best stuff Sunday last year, but he did enough to secure his fourth PGA Tour victory. Ranked seventh in the world, Fowler has racked up nine top-5 finishes since last year's win.

The Favorites

Fowler, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas enter the week as the most obvious favorites, and all three have displayed solid form to start the season, and all three have faired well at this event. McIlroy won here in 2012 and lost in a playoff in 2014. Thomas finished t3 here in 2016.

Sergio Garcia is also making his PGA Tour season debut (he recently won on the Asian Tour) as he starts his road to defending his title at Augusta National. 

Tommy Fleetwood and Gary Woodland (recent winner of Phoenix Open) are also two players in fine form ready to contend this week.

Sleepers

Englishman Tyrell Hatton, ranked 15th in the world, has 10 straight top-19 finishes worldwide including two wins. He finished t4 here last year in his Honda debut, and he looks poised for a repeat performance.

Patrick Reed and Thomas Pieters have been quiet recently, but the two 2016 Ryder Cup stars have the games to break out and contend any week.

Tee Times

Thursday Hole No. 1/ Friday Hole No. 10
6:45 a.m./11:35 a.m.: Tom Hoge, John Peterson, Martin Piller
6:55 a.m./11:45 a.m.: J.J. Henry, Troy Merritt, Sung Kang
7:05 a.m./11:55 a.m.: Matt Every, Ryan Blaum, Dominic Bozzelli
7:15 a.m./12:05 p.m.: Brian Harman, Wesley Bryan, Chris Kirk
7:25 a.m./12:15 p.m.: Ted Potter, Jr., Emiliano Grillo, Tyrrell Hatton
7:35 a.m./12:25 p.m.: Jason Dufner, Brian Stuard, Shane Lowry
7:45 a.m./12:35 p.m.: Fabian Gomez, Nick Watney, Rafa Cabrera Bello
7:55 a.m./12:45 p.m.: Hudson Swafford, Jimmy Walker, Smylie Kaufman
8:05 a.m./12:55 p.m.: Robert Streb, Jamie Lovemark, Talor Gooch
8:15 a.m./1:05 p.m.: Martin Flores, Ollie Schniederjans, Aaron Wise
8:25 a.m./1:15 p.m.: Jonathan Randolph, Xinjun Zhang, Denny McCarthy
8:35 a.m./1:25 p.m.: Brice Garnett, Lanto Griffin, Nate Lashley
11:35 a.m./6:45 a.m.: Danny Lee, Luke List, Thomas Pieters
11:45 a.m./6:55 a.m.: Scott Piercy, John Huh, Anirban Lahiri
11:55 a.m./7:05 a.m.: Harris English, Robert Garrigus, Byeong Hun An
12:05 p.m./7:15 a.m.: Ryan Armour, Billy Horschel, Webb Simpson
12:15 p.m./7:25 a.m.: Greg Chalmers, William McGirt, Luke Donald
12:25 p.m./7:35 a.m.: Kevin Kisner, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed
12:35 p.m./7:45 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Padraig Harrington
12:45 p.m./7:55 a.m.: Alex Cejka, Tyrone Van Aswegen, Kelly Kraft
12:55 p.m./8:05 a.m.: Shawn Stefani, Derek Fathauer, Michael Kim
1:05 p.m./8:15 a.m.: Ben Martin, Bob Estes, Jon Curran
1:15 p.m./8:25 a.m.: Abraham Ancer, Keith Mitchell, Andrew Novak
1:25 p.m./8:35 a.m.: Stephan Jaeger, Corey Conners, Jhared Hack
Thursday Hole No. 10/ Friday Hole No. 1
6:45 a.m./11:35 a.m.: Camilo Villegas, Morgan Hoffmann, Peter Uihlein
6:55 a.m./11:45 a.m.: Michael Thompson, Ian Poulter, Cameron Tringale
7:05 a.m./11:55 a.m.: Lucas Glover, Andrew Landry, Dylan Frittelli
7:15 a.m./12:05 p.m.: Jim Furyk, Martin Kaymer, Stewart Cink
7:25 a.m./12:15 p.m.: Vaughn Taylor, Graeme McDowell, Peter Malnati
7:35 a.m./12:25 p.m.: Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger, Sergio Garcia
7:45 a.m./12:35 p.m.: Patton Kizzire, Brandt Snedeker, Tiger Woods
7:55 a.m./12:45 p.m.: Gary Woodland, Alex Noren, Tommy Fleetwood
8:05 a.m./12:55 p.m.: Scott Stallings, Chad Campbell, Blayne Barber
8:15 a.m./1:05 p.m.: Sean O’Hair, Retief Goosen, Kevin Tway
8:25 a.m./1:15 p.m.: Ben Silverman, Tyler Duncan, Tom Lovelady
8:35 a.m./1:25 p.m.: Nicholas Lindheim, Joel Dahmen, Sam Burns
11:35 a.m./6:45 a.m.: Chesson Hadley, Ryan Palmer, Bud Cauley
11:45 a.m./6:55 a.m.: J.J. Spaun, Richy Werenski, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
11:55 a.m./7:05 a.m.: J.B. Holmes, Scott Brown, Patrick Rodgers
12:05 p.m./7:15 a.m.: Mackenzie Hughes, Cody Gribble, Billy Hurley III
12:15 p.m./7:25 a.m.: Russell Knox, Brian Gay, Charles Howell III
12:25 p.m./7:35 a.m.: Jhonattan Vegas, Russell Henley, Ryan Moore
12:35 p.m./7:45 a.m.: Chris Stroud, Grayson Murray, Louis Oosthuizen
12:45 p.m./7:55 a.m.: David Lingmerth, Rory Sabbatini, Harold Varner III
12:55 p.m./8:05 a.m.: Ben Crane, Keegan Bradley, C.T. Pan
1:05 p.m./8:15 a.m.: Sam Saunders, Bronson Burgoon, Bernd Wiesberger
1:15 p.m./8:25 a.m.: Rob Oppenheim, Andrew Putnam, Andrew Filbert
1:25 p.m./8:35 a.m.: Seamus Power, Adam Schenk, T.J. Vogel

Alec Brzezinski