HARRINGTON, SINGH COMMIT TO HONDA CLASSIC
PALM BEACH GARDENS , FL - Padraig Harrington, the 2005 Honda Classic champion who has since been one of the elite players in the World, has committed to play in the 2010 Honda Classic, a PGA TOUR event which will be held March 1-7 at PGA National Resort & Spa.
Harrington has won three major championships since his Honda victory and is presently ranked 10th in the Official World Golf Ranking. He joins a spectacular International field that already includes Lee Westwood(4th), Paul Casey (6th), Rory McIlroy (9th), Sergio Garcia (13th), Robert Allenby (15th), Ernie Els (19th), Camilo Villegas (22nd), Luke Donald (23rd), Angel Cabrera (27th), and defending champion Y.E. Yang (29th).
Vijay Singh, who won The Honda in 1999, also has committed along with fellow former Honda champs Mark Calcavecchia, Todd Hamilton, Tim Herron, Justin Leonard, Stuart Appleby and Mark Wilson.
Harrington has been a fixture in the Top 10 and rose as high as No. 3 in the world in 2008 after he won back to back British Opens and also captured the 2008 PGA Championship. Despite that success, he has been working a lot on his swing the past two years and it has brought him mixed results. He struggled in the early part of last year, but then had a flurry of six top 10 finishes in the second half of the TOUR season.
"The main thing that I changed is at the top of my backswing, I tended to finish my backswing my arching my back a bit," Harrington said. "That's probably one of the more significant things I've taken out. The other has to do with my hip turn and my takeaway.
"I couldn't leave it alone last year. It just absolutely had me enthralled. I was fascinated with trying to get to the bottom of it. It certainly led to a very -- well, poor performances all the way up till August. It was only in August that I kind of eventually agreed that I could wait another four months of the winter to finish off what I was doing. The minute I put it away, I was very happy that my game actually turned around very quickly. "
Harrington has only placed twice in 2010, missing the cut at the Northern Trust and finishing in a tie for 16th at Pebble Beach .
The 2010 edition of The Honda Classic will be played March 1-7 at PGA National Resort & Spa.
The tournament, Palm Beach County 's largest sporting event, awarded more than $642,000 to area children's charities in 2009 to surpass the $16 million mark in charitable contributions during American Honda's 28-year tenure as title sponsor.
Individual daily tickets can be purchased for $15 (Tuesday and Wednesday), $30 (Thursday and Friday) or $40 (Saturday and Sunday). A Classic Value Pack good for the entire week is $95 and includes over $300 worth of added value coupons from area golf courses, restaurants and PGA National Resort & Spa.
Call 1-866-8HONDA8 (866-846-6328) to order tickets or visit thehondaclassic.com.
Last Updated: 2/25/2010 4:57:51 PM / Generated at: 7/30/2010 4:51:35 PM