Nicklaus: 2024 PGA Tour Schedule Will Help the Honda Classic’s Field Next Year

Looking at the top-four finishers at The Honda Classic, you would’ve thought this event was being held at the same time as a marquee golf tournament (like the Puerto Rico Open will be going against the Arnold Palmer Invitational this coming week).

But no, this was a standalone PGA Tour event that saw just three of the world’s top 20 golfers participating.

Many golfers skipped this longtime PGA Tour stop in South Florida because it was the lone non-designated event in a five-week stretch. Florida native Billy Horschel opened up about it prior to the start of the tournament, saying he was “disappointed in the PGA Tour” over the scheduling and that so many golfers live within just a few miles of PGA National and still chose not to play.

Jack Nicklaus, whose children’s hospital system is the main charitable beneficiary of this event, said that he’s confident the 2024 edition of this event will be an improvement over what we saw this year.

The great @jacknicklaus spending time with @DanHicksNBC and @PaulAzinger in the booth at @thehondaclassic! 🙌

📺: @NBC and @peacock pic.twitter.com/Jnp84mHw2z

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) February 26, 2023

Nicklaus said on the NBC broadcast:

“Next year’s schedule are Pebble and LA are their elevated tournaments. Phoenix is not. Then they go to Mexico, then they come here. So, we will have players next year. And then they’ve got Bay Hill and Players. The tournament’s going to be just fine.”

Nicklaus revealed some parts of the 2024 schedule that have not yet been announced. We knew that the WM Phoenix Open would not be a designated event every year, but according to Nicklaus, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am will get the designation next year. Also, with Mexico off the fall schedule, it looks like the tour will go there at the end of February and after the Genesis Invitational.

Regardless of how the chips fall, The Golden Bear said he would continue his longstanding policy of not recruiting golfers to his events.

Nicklaus said:

“I don’t do that. I don’t do it for the Memorial Tournament. I don’t do it for any tournament. I didn’t like when people did it to me. If you’re going to play, you’re going to play. If you’re not going to play, you’re not going to play.”

The great @jacknicklaus assures us Palm Beach County golf fans⛳️ have nothing to worry about. Our @PGATOUR event will be here long after the @TheHondaClassic wraps up @CBS12 pic.twitter.com/5QQkcN6WuG

— John Evenson (@EvensonCBS12) February 26, 2023

The other change that the Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, tournament will see next year is in its title sponsor. Honda is dropping its affiliation with the event after 42 years, which was the longest-running primary sponsor for a tournament.

Cover Image Via Twitter