What Is The Men’s Course Record At PGA National?

The Cognizant Classic venue, which includes the famous Bear Trap, is known for its difficulty, but what is the course record?

Brian Harman on his way to a course record 61 at the 2012 Honda Classic
Brian Harman set a course record at PGA National in the 2012 Honda Classic
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mike Hall
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Since opening in 1981, the Champion Course at PGA National has established a reputation as one of the best courses in Florida.

It has also hosted several prestigious events including the 1983 Ryder Cup and 1987 PGA Championship, while it has been the home of the PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic (formerly The Honda Classic) since 2007. 

The course is also regarded as one of the more difficult on the PGA Tour, and has earned that reputation in part because of the daunting three-hole stretch between the 15th and 17th named The Bear Trap, named after Golden Bear Jack Nicklaus, who redesigned the original course in 1990.

Despite that, the venue has seen its share of low scores, including Tiger Woods' final round of 62 at the 2012 Honda Classic. That was seven shots better than Rory McIlroy’s 69 on the same day, but it was the Ulsterman who finished on top of the leaderboard, with Woods settling for runner-up two shots back.

While that was undoubtedly a heroic effort from Woods, it wasn’t even the lowest score that year. Two days earlier, Brian Harman set the course record with a 61, which would been even better had he made a five-foot birdie put on the 18. Still, Harman obliterated the previous course record, set by Davis Love III just a day earlier, by three shots.

Although Harman couldn’t win the tournament, eventually finishing T12, a measure of just how big an accomplishment his round had been was the number of years needed for another player to match it – nine.

In the 2021 edition of the tournament, Matt Jones hit nine birdies in a bogey-free opening round to equal Harman’s record. What’s even more impressive about the Australian’s achievement was that he did it in windy conditions, beating the field’s first-round scoring average by 10 to take a three-shot lead.

Matt Jones with Honda Classic trophy

Matt Jones won the 2021 Honda Classic, helped by his record-equalling first round of 61 at PGA National

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Jones, who is now with LIV Golf, couldn’t match the brilliance of the first day in the remaining three rounds, but the 70, 69 and 67 that followed were enough for him to finish top of the leaderboard by six shots for his second PGA Tour win.

Mike Hall
Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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