The winner of the Honda Classic doesn’t typically have to take it deep to bring home the trophy at PGA National.
That’s good news for Rory McIlroy, who is not particularly a fan of the windy golf he faces on Sunday. He disparaged the impact wind had on the Open Championship last July, saying the style of golf does not favor him.
Since the move to the Champion Course in 2007, the lowest final round shot by a winner is the 67 carded by Ernie Els in 2008 to end a four-year winless drought on the PGA Tour.
Y.E. Yang (2009) and Camilo Villegas (2010) each shot 2-under 68 in their winning years, with Mark Wilson shooting 71 before winning in a sudden-death playoff in 2007. Rory Sabbatini shot even-par 70 last year after entering play on the final day with a five-shot edge.
With a Sunday scoring average at 71.33 in the five prior years at PGA National, par is McIlroy’s friend in search of his third PGA Tour win and becoming the second consecutive Rory to win at the Bear Trap.