Only One Final Piece

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. Work on Tiger Woods new home continues in the shadow of the Honda Classic.

If Woods is going to build a new life, the folks who have invested their hearts and souls in returning the Honda Classic to its former status as one of the PGA Tours elite events would love hearing that he plans to do so with South Florida as his new home.

Woods created yet another buzz in the game this week with news that hes returned from rehab to the Isleworth community he calls home and that hes back on the range hitting balls.

Whats happening in Tigers home, where hell ultimately call home, may be personal matters but they are also relevant developments to the Honda Classics future.

The tournament is being rebuilt so formidably Woods looks like he could be the last piece in the events renaissance.

Im pleasantly surprised at the field, said Englands Paul Casey, runner up at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship two weeks ago. Its stacked with the worlds best.

Four of the top 10 in the world rankings are here. Theres No. 4 Lee Westwood, No. 6 Casey, No. 9 Rory McIlroy and No. 10 Padraig Harrington. There are plenty of other big names. Theres Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas, J.B. Holmes, Trevor Immelman and Rickie Fowler.

Corporate sponsors may be distancing themselves from Woods, polls may be showing that his popularity is plummeting, but the Palm Beach residents rebuilding the Honda Classic cant wait to welcome him to South Florida.

Thats if he still plans to move here after his fall from grace.

The uncertainty of that impacts this events future.

Just 26 miles north of PGA National Resort & Spa, Woods is building a palatial estate, a 9,000-square foot mansion on 12 acres of property he purchased for $44.5 million more than four years ago. The construction is reported to be the dream-home aspiration of Elin Woods, Tigers wife. The strife in the marriage, uncertainty whether the couple is still even living in the same house, casts doubt on the future of the property.

Still, constructions continuing, according to local real estate agents who work Jupiter Island. In fact, the Palm Beach Post reported last month that even as Woods was enduring the onslaught of reports of his infidelity, one of his attorneys was signing documents notifying Martin County officials of Woods intent to complete construction.

Honda Classic officials have worked hard to rebuild the event with hopes that Woods has noticed whats happening. Woods is a familiar presence in the area. Hes spent a lot of time in Jupiter with his yacht, Privacy, docked there. The hope among tournament officials was that Woods would be moved into his Jupiter Island compound before next years tournament.

Though Woods played the Honda Classic on a sponsors exemption when he was 17, hes never played the event as a pro.

Weve heard that he will support the Honda Classic as a hometown event, Honda Classic executive director Ken Kennerly said. Should he choose to relocate here, we hope he does play. Whether he moves here or not, I hope he considers playing because its a championship caliber venue and championship caliber tournament and our fields getting better and better every year. I think he would do well here.

The Honda Classic was an instant hit in its inception as the Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic outside Fort Lauderdale in 1972. Gleason brought all his Hollywood buddies to the tournament and all the PGA Tours biggest stars showed up. Jack Nicklaus won the event twice in its formative years. It was conceived as a way to sell homes around Inverrarys new golf courses.

Through the 90s, with the West Coast Swing growing stronger and players dissatisfied with the Honda Classics move to new courses, the events fields weakened.

Kennerly and tournament director Ed McEnroe have engineered a re-making of the Honda Classic since moving into their roles before the 2007 event. They billed it as the new Honda Classic. They were part of the move to PGA National Resort & Spas Champion Course, a course redesigned by Nicklaus that features the trio of challenging holes (Nos. 15-17) called the Bear Trap. Nicklaus wasnt just recruited to spruce up the design before the inaugural event, he was brought in as a partner of sorts. The Nicklaus Foundation and its charities are among beneficiaries of the event.

The Champion Courses popularity has been a large factor in wooing players back.

The PGA Tour is viewed as events with Tiger Woods and those without Tiger Woods, said Rick Horrow, a CNN sports business analyst. Clearly, Ken Kennerly and Ed McEnroe have done a stupendous job of taking the Honda Classic to the next level. If this morphs into a Tiger Woods event, the skys the limit.

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Only One Final Piece

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