The Bear Trap awaits in South Florida.
With hot, sunny days forecast for all four rounds of the Honda Classic, the mercury’s rising, especially at the 17th hole, where the revelry at the Goslings Bear Trap party pavilion could turn the tee box into a sweat box.
It may be even steamier for women playing the Honda LPGA Thailand, with temperatures forecast in the 90s for the weekend.
Here’s our special heat index gauging the toastiest seats in golf this week:
Five-alarm salsa – PGA National’s 17th tee
PGA Tour pros almost universally don’t want to see the craziness promoted at the Phoenix Open’s party hole (No. 16) duplicated at other Tour events, but they will get a distant cousin this week at the Honda Classic.
The Goslings Bear Trap party pavilion sits over the 17th tee, where Graeme McDowell cracked that players can get “splashed with vodka cranberries” if the wind is right. The Cobra Puma Village surrounds the 17th green.
That pretty much means everyone playing through there late in the day, with the party fully percolating, is on the Hot Seat.
Tiger Woods is scheduled to go through there at about Happy Hour on Friday afternoon.
“I said to myself, ‘This isn’t Scottsdale, this is ridiculous,’” Billy Horschel said after playing through there a year ago.
Sergio Garcia was among players who got heckled there last year.
It’s one of the toughest holes on the PGA Tour, ranking as the 21st most difficult par 3 last year.
Hot-collar rub – Rickie Fowler
Fowler returns to the Honda Classic as its defending champ.
He also returns for his first start since losing the 54-hole lead at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he bogeyed three of the final four holes and fell all the way out of the top 10 at Sunday’s end.
Fowler is now one for his last six closing out 54-hole leads on the PGA Tour.
Spicy Tom Yum heat – Shanshan Feng
The Rolex world No. 1 in women’s golf is back in action with the strongest field of this young season ready to resume chasing her at the Honda LPGA Thailand.
World No. 2 Sung Hyun Park will be making her first start of the year. No. 3 So Yeon Ryu, No. 4 Lexi Thompson, No. 5 Anna Nordqvist and No. 6 In Gee Chun are all in the field.
Park and Ryu shared Rolex Player of the Year honors last season. Thompson was the Golf Writers Association of America’s Player of the Year.
Feng has ridden atop the world rankings for 15 consecutive weeks. She opened the year tying for third at the Pure Silk Bahamas Classic last month.
Source: Internet
