Tournament Highlights
- 1972: Tom Weiskopf outduels Jack Nicklaus to win by one shot the first edition of the tournament.
- 1974: Leonard Thompson wins his first ever PGA Tour title by one shot over Hale Irwin. After his victory, Thompson donated $10,000 of his winnings to the Boys Clubs of America.
- 1978: Jack Nicklaus birdies the last five holes to defeat Grier Jones by one shot.
- 1980: Johnny Miller wins his first tournament since his 1976 Open Championship triumph. He finishes two shots ahead of Bruce Lietzke and Charles Coody.
- 1986: Kenny Knox wins by one-shot over Clarence Rose, Jodie Mudd, Andy Bean, and John Mahaffey in spite of shooting a third round 80.
- 1987: Mark Calcavecchia wins his first Honda Classic title. Only the year before he worked as a caddy at the tournament.
- 1991: Steve Pate shoots the worst last-round score by a PGA Tour tournament winner in ten years, a 75, but still holds on to win by three shots over Paul Azinger and Dan Halldorson.
- 1992: Corey Pavin defeats Fred Couples in a sudden-death playoff only after holing a 136-yard 8-iron shot for eagle on the 72nd hole to tie for the lead.
- 1996: Tim Herron becomes the first PGA Tour rookie in 13 years to win a tournament wire-to-wire. He defeats Mark McCumber by four shots.
- 2000: Dudley Hart birdies the last four holes to defeat J. P. Hayes and Kevin Wentworth by one shot.
- 2004: Thirty-eight-year-old PGA Tour rookie Todd Hamilton wins by one shot over Davis Love III. Hamilton would go on to win The Open Championship later that same year.
- 2007: Mark Wilson wins the biggest playoff in the history of the tournament. His birdie on the third hole of sudden death defeats José Cóceres. Camilo Villegas and Boo Weekley, the other participants in the four-man playoff, had been eliminated on the second playoff hole.
- 2012: Rory McIlroy wins and claims the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Brian Harman shot a second round 61 to set a new course record.
Read more about this topic: The Honda Classic