For the record, the Bear Trap begins at the 180-yard, par-3 No. 15, the first of three consecutive sinister holes at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Champion Course at PGA National Resort & Spa. But don’t tell that to current European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington. The two-time Honda Classic champion says the butterflies in his stomach begin fluttering much earlier.
“I start thinking about it the night before, for sure,” Harrington said.
Harrington’s fear isn’t unwarranted. These three water-laden holes rank as the fourth-toughest stretch on Tour of non-majors courses that have been played in at least 10 or more seasons since 2007. Since that time, there have been 1,515 balls in the water on the three-hole stretch and 446 of 570 players, or 78 percent of the field, have hit at least one ball in the drink on the Bear Trap.
Water guards the front, the entire right side and rear of No. 15, with a large bunker to the left making for a bail-out magnet. The hole is so challenging that Harrington said, “You hope to miss the short putt on the 14th green so you’re not up first on 15. You love to see your playing partners birdie 14. I really mean that; so, you get another feel for the hole. Then you’ve just got to man up and hit the shot.”
Russell Henley hits off the 15th tee during the final round of The 2014 Honda Classic golf tournament at PGA National GC Champion Course. This is where it gets fun. Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
That strategy has worked for Harrington, who along with Daniel Summerhays, has the best cumulative score to par at 15 – 5 under – since 2007. Last year, the field deposited 72 balls in the water there alone, marking the most balls in the water on this hole in the ShotLink era (since 2003).
On to 16, which Harrington actually called “a breather,” but try telling that to Ryan Palmer, who is 18 over, with five water balls, in 42 career rounds there. This dogleg-right, 434-yard par 4 features water guarding the right side of the hole and a forced carry on the approach over a lake to the green. Finding the putting surface is only half the battle on a hole where 271 three-putts have been made since 2007, most of any hole at PGA National.
The pressure ratchets up again at 17, a 172-yard water-laden par 3, for Harrington.
“The problem on 17 now is it’s enclosed,” Harrington said. “You really struggle to tell exactly what angle the wind is coming at.”
At least Harrington has a fond memory to recall. He stiffed a 5-iron to 3 feet on the second playoff hole to win the title in 2015. Defending Honda Classic champion Sungjae Im is the only player currently with eight or more rounds who has yet to miss the green in regulation since 2007. But the rest of the field hasn’t been so fortunate. Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy both have hit six balls in the water here during the last 13 editions of the tournament, tying for the most of any player. When the wind is swirling, good luck.
“That stretch is about precision,” Nicklaus once said. “That stretch is about guts.”
Even Tiger Woods fell victim to The Bear Trap the last time he teed it up at the Honda. In 2018, he played Nos. 15-17 in eight over par for the tournament and finished eight strokes behind champion Justin Thomas.
As the leaders vie for the title come Sunday, they can take heart at Jason Bohn’s accomplishment. During the second round of the 2016 Honda Classic, Bohn began experiencing chest pains, which were no relation to the heart-thumping pressure that grips players at The Bear Trap. It turned out that his left anterior descending artery – A.K.A., the widow maker – was 99 percent blocked. One year later, Bohn returned with a clean bill of health and boasted to Nicklaus that he played The Bear Trap in level par while suffering a heart attack.
“So it’s not as hard as he thinks it is,” Bohn said.
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