The peripatetic Honda Classic has moved to PGA National, where Jack Nicklaus has toughened up the famed Champion Course into a test just short of a major. The Golden Bear tightened up the fairways and thickened up the rough, so much so that some speculate that the winning score on Sunday might be around even-par.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. Upon hearing that some Honda Classic players believe the winning score could be around even par, Jack Nicklaus was thrilled.”It’ll be a challenge,” Nicklaus said.That’s exactly what he envisioned.
He redesigned the Honda’s new home course - the Champion Course at the PGA National Resort & Spa - in 1990, then tweaked it again to get the track ready for its first PGA Tour event since the 1987 PGA Championship. The result is a 7,048-yard, par-70 test, dotted by water and bunkers, tight fairways and rough that seems unusually thick for a non-major.
In some ways, it’s even more demanding than the course’s old home at Mirasol, the facility across the street from PGA National that features giant sloping greens that were often criticised by players.

“At Mirasol, the challenge was around the greens. Here, the challenge is off the tee,” defending champion Luke Donald said. “You have to drive it very well. The fairways are more narrow than Mirasol, but the greens are much flatter and I’m sure they will get firmer as the week goes on.”

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PGA Champions challenge