Category: Palm Beaches

For the ninth consecutive year, Pratt & Whitney has funded a generous grant benefitting our veterans’ programs through The Honda Classic. Thursday afternoon of tournament week a check was presented in the amount of $35,000 to our veterans in the Patriots Outpost (the tournament’s military appreciation tent sponsored by Pratt & Whitney). Hundreds of other veterans were also in attendance.

Thank you to our veterans that attended including Bob Massimini, Douglas Turner, Christina Olivarez and Homer Watts among others for their service.

“Pratt & Whitney’s inspirational generosity has allowed our veterans golf programs to grow in both number and frequency,” said Bobby Hendel, Chapter President. “We now conduct veterans’ programs each weekday and this grant also provides for our nation’s heroes to play local golf courses.”

In honor of the men and women who have and are currently serving our great nation, The Honda Classic in partnership with Pratt & Whitney offers complimentary tickets for Active Duty, Reservists, Retirees, their registered Dependents and Non-Retired Veterans Thursday through Sunday of tournament week.

On Tuesday afternoon of tournament week Dennis Walters, Chase Koepka and Erik Compton hosted our annual Junior Clinic. The event began with Dennis and Gussie putting on their inspirational show with golf trick shots. Pictured above left: Gussie can hit a driver!

Erik and Chase then talked to the kids and teens about challenges in their lives and how they practice and manage their games to play professional golf. They answered questions from the audience and hit some shots for the crowd. Pictured above right: Chase hitting shots while Erik and the crowd look on.

Hot dogs and snacks were served for all that attended. Over 100 juniors joined us for the clinic.

Thank you TruGreen for sponsoring this fun and special event.

On Tuesday morning of Honda week, 18 adult students from the Els Center of Excellence attended a special golf clinic. The students were divided into three groups and rotated among three stations of putting, chipping and full-swings. The clinic concluded with Dennis Walters and his dog Gussie hitting some incredible trick shots.

Special SHOUT OUT to our Els coaches Joel Zanville, Sam Velazquez, Sasha Lobel, Corey Sturgis, Aimee Ackell, Emily Valentine, Dave McNulty, Steven Andrade and Anthony Coletta for conducting a fun morning!

Ten Chapter students, staff and Coaches attended the 10th annual Women’s Leadership Forum presented by The Honda Classic Tuesday of tournament week. The forum was an enlightening and educational event attended by more than 350 women to participate in an engaging discussion on topics vital to their professional and personal development.

The two leadership guest speakers were Karen Brodkin, Executive Vice President of content strategy and development for Endeavor and co-head of WME Sports and Susie Krabacher, a dedicated humanitarian who works with saving, feeding, and educating the poorest of the poor.

Chapter female participants Isabella Cecere, Katie Harwood, Isabella Rubio, Daniela Perez and Olivia Marano joined Coach Connie, Coach Sun Min Lee, Coach Gail, Coach Tami, Manager of Operations Janelle Johnson, and Board Member and Palm Beach County Commissioner Maria Marino.

Pictured above: Chapter attendees with Barbara Nicklaus, Co-Chair of The Honda Classic.

In a tournament week full of student opportunities, it all began with Chapter students Billy Reid, Jayda Dookie and Olivia St. Antoine playing the Monday Pro Am with PGA TOUR professional and First Tee – Greater Sacramento alumnus Austin Smotherman.

“What a great day,” said Billy Reid. “First, we received all kinds of SWAG- clothes, shoes, golf balls, sunglasses, then we played a golf course in PGA TOUR conditions with a PGA pro. Austin was so nice to all of us, and we talked about his path to the Tour and our similar experiences in First Tee.”

Austin and Billy both played in what is now named the PURE Insurance Championship Impacting the First Tee at Pebble Beach. Jayda is applying to play in the tournament this year and Olivia will apply in the future.

“This is one of our most coveted local participant opportunities,” said Chapter Executive Director Carl Mistretta. “It is made possible because of the support and generosity of The Honda Classic and is reserved for our most dedicated students each year.”

It was great to see lots of fans and packed stands at The Honda Classic. The Honda Classic is a Founding Partner of our Chapter. They support our children’s and veterans’ programs throughout the year in many ways from grants, to providing volunteers and even donating practice balls for our driving range.

Congratulations to Sepp Straka for winning a very exciting 2022 tournament that came down to the last shot at the last hole.

Straka trailed by five shots entering the final round and tapped in for birdie in the rain on the final hole to beat Shane Lowry by one shot. He became the first Austrian winner in PGA TOUR history. He shot a 4-under 66 on Sunday to finish at 10 under and earn $1.44 million.

Straka would birdie the par-4 16th (from 19 feet) to tie for the lead, and he then made one final birdie at the last hole. He led the Honda field in driving accuracy (47 of 56 fairways), hit 15 greens on Sunday, and when he missed one, scrambled well all week (13 of 17, which ranked third).

The victory ensures that Straka — who played his college golf at Georgia — will play the Masters in April.