Honda Classic Players Wear Purple Ribbon To Honour Renowned Journalist

Players and caddies at this week’s Honda Classic are wearing purple ribbons in tribute to renowned golf journalist Tim Rosaforte, who passed away last month.

Early clubhouse leader Kurt Kitayama, who shot an opening 6-under-par 64, was joined by the likes of Zach Johnson, Mackenzie Hughes, Cameron Young, Russell Knox and Lee Hodges in sporting the tribute, adorned with the esteemed Golf Channel insider’s nickname ‘Rosie’, at his home event at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens. The Honda Classic media centre was also renamed as the Tim Rosaforte media center.

Born in New York, Rosaforte graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Rhode Island in 1977 and got his break in journalism in Florida at the Tampa Times before moving into the golf world. He covered 125 Majors - including every Masters from 1983-2019 - and 17 Ryder Cups for the Golf Channel, Golf Digest and Sports Illustrated. He retired in December 2019.

Rosaforte was the recipient of the PGA of America's Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism and became the first journalist to be awarded a lifetime membership of the PGA. He passed away on January 12th at the age of 66 from Alzeimer’s disease. 

As well as the Golf Channel, Rosaforte was known for his writing with GolfChannel.com, Golf Digest and Sports Illustrated. His Celebration of Life was held last week at Christ Fellowship in Palm Beach Gardens.

On hearing of his death, some of the biggest names in golf, including Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson, took to twitter to pay tribute to a journalist known for his close relationships with the players.