The Honda Classic

Luke Donald, who won the 2006 Honda Classic by seizing control with a string of birdies on the back nine at the Country Club at Mirasol on Sunday, will defend his title as the 2007 Honda Classic moves across the street to PGA National Resort & Spa February 26-March 4.

Donald will take on a world-class field that already also includes early entrants John Daly, 2005 champ Padraig Harrington, Davis Love III, David Toms, Bernhard Langer, Mark Calcavecchia, Brad Faxon, Justin Leonard, and Dudley Hart. Daly and Langer have been awarded Sponsor's Exemptions by the tournament.

The Honda Classic kicks off the Florida swing for the first time in 2007. Donald has already gotten off to a strong start this season with a quality showing at the Sony Open in Hawaii, where he finished tied for second, and at the Mercedes, where he finished seventh. He currently is third on the money list and in the Fed Ex Cup standings after two events with $650,600 and 3,038 Fed Ex Cup points.

"Well, I feel like I'm improving," Donald said. "I'm getting better every year. It has not quite yet resulted in a lot of wins, winning majors and that kind of stuff. But I feel like I'm getting a lot closer than I was a year or two ago.

"It's just through really hard work and believing that I can get to that point where I'm winning multiple times in a year and you know, having chances and winning majors."
In the 2006 Honda Classic, Donald used back-to-back birdies midway through his back nine to take the outright lead at 11-under, made a great scrambling par on the difficult 16th to preserve the margin and beat Geoff Ogilvy by two shots after a perfect approach to four-feet on the 18th set up his final birdie.

He had entered the final day tied for the lead with Billy Mayfair, and birdied the opening hole to take sole possession of the top spot. A 20-foot birdie putt at the fourth hole sent him to 11-under, before bogeys on Nos. 7 and 10 knocked him from atop the leaderboard.

But a 10-foot birdie putt at the 13th and a 25-footer on the 14th restored the lead, and when he holed a slippery 18-footer to save par on the 16th, he pumped his right fist repeatedly. Two holes later, as Ogilvy lingered in case of a playoff, Donald's approach on 18 was perfect.

"This is a big step," said Donald, who won the 1999 NCAA Championship while playing for Northwestern. "I think it's definitely a step in the right direction. Anytime you can win, especially out here on the PGA Tour, it's a huge boost of confidence. Hopefully this will just keep the momentum going.

"I was pretty proud of the way I finished and finished the job off. ... I held it together. Anytime you finish with a birdie like that and a great shot, it means a lot to a golfer."

Donald's only other tour win was at the 2002 Southern Farm Bureau Classic, when he held a one-shot lead after 54 holes and saw the final round washed out. But his quick start in 2007 shows that he is a golfer on the rise and poised for a really big breakthrough.

"I feel like I'm improving every week. I feel like my swing is back on track," Donald said. "I think winning like I did at Honda really does help. It breeds a lot of confidence and it makes you believe more in yourself. It reinforces what I thought I could do, and I think that's important in golf.
"It's hard to be competitive every week. It can take a strain on your mental side sometimes.

"I've gotten to the stage where I'm expecting to be up there and contending and winning each week I play. That's something that was probably not quite there a year or two ago. I'm almost tricking my subconscious that if anyone can do this, I can. There's no reason why I can't keep improving."

Tickets are now on sale for the 2007 Honda Classic and are available in several packages. The Classic Pak includes daily grounds credentials and coupons for more than $150 in savings at PGA National including a complimentary round of golf. The cost is $75. Individual daily tickets can be purchased for $15 (Tuesday and Wednesday), $25 (Thursday and Friday) or $35 (Saturday and Sunday).

Call 1-866-8HONDA8 (866-846-6328) to order tickets or visit thehondaclassic.com.

Special hospitality packages are also available for The Champions Club (18th hole) and The Bear Trap (17th hole).  Call Joanie Connors at 561-799-4619 to order hospitality packages.

The Honda Classic will benefit the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation.