Ryder Cup captains Zach Johnson (US), Luke Donald (Europe) commit to play Honda Classic
The Honda Classic field will have a Ryder Cup feel.
The tournament will include both captains for this year's Ryder Cup, the United States' Zach Johnson and Europe's Luke Donald, a longtime Jupiter resident.
Johnson and Donald join a field that is starting to take shape and so far includes Billy Horschel, Sungjae Im and defending champion Sepp Straka among others. The entry deadline is 5 p.m. Friday for the event, which starts Feb. 23 at PGA National.
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Johnson, 46, has won two majors, the 2007 Masters and 2015 Open Championship. A 12-time winner on the PGA Tour, the St. Simons Island, Ga., resident and Cedar Rapids, Iowa native was 4-under in this weekend's Phoenix Open, finishing in a tie for 32nd.
This will be Johnson's 10th Honda Classic. His best finish was eighth in 2020-21, when he was 5-under, seven shots behind champion Matt Jones.
"I'm a golfer first, so I want to play good golf," Johnson said. "I think the beauty of where I am right now is that my body is still good and I can still go out and play a full schedule and still maintain other responsibilities.
"I'm excited for this year. I've done a lot of work and more to come."
Donald, 45, was born in England, but before settling in Jupiter he graduated from Northwestern and lived in Illinois. He won the 1999 individual NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, beating the scoring record held by Tiger Woods, and in 2006 he won the final Honda Classic played at The Country Club at Mirasol.
Donald reached No. 1 in the world in 2011 and spent 56 weeks atop the rankings and more than 200 weeks in the top 10.
"I actually came into this year with higher expectations than I had in a while just for my own game," Donald said. "You know when you're swinging reasonably well, and to be honest, I feel like my game is in a pretty good spot."
As far as his schedule, Donald said, "I feel like I've won on courses I shouldn't win on and feel like I played poorly year after year on courses I could flourish on. If you play good, you play good."
Donald is playing in the Honda for the 15th time. Besides that win in 2006, he was runner-up in 2008, one stroke behind Ernie Els. He has five wins on the PGA Tour and seven on the European Tour.
Both are preparing for a busy summer on and off the course.
"I'm excited, there is a lot on the horizon," Johnson said "A lot of certainly heavy responsibilities, but all of which I welcome. I can't wait for what the fall will hold (but) between now and then, there is a lot going on, a lot of decisions, a lot of just cool things that will start to surface here.
"The Ryder Cup has some substance. It's an honor to be a part of it."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Ryder Cup captains Zach Johnson, Luke Donald will play Honda Classic
