Honda Invitational (original) (raw)

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Golf tournament

Asian Honda Classic

Tournament information
Location Bangkok, Thailand
Established 1996
Course(s) Thai Country Club
Par 72
Tour(s) Asian Tour
Format Stroke play
Prize fund US$300,000
Month played February
Final year 1997
Tournament record score
Aggregate 268 Tiger Woods (1997)
To par −20 as above
Final champion
United States Tiger Woods
Location map
Thai CC is located in ThailandThai CCThai CCLocation in Thailand

The Honda Invitational was a golf tournament on the Asian Tour that was held in Thailand in 1996 and 1997. The tournament was won, respectively, by Steve Elkington and Tiger Woods.

The 1997 event received far more media attention due to the presence of Woods, who received a reported $480,000 appearance fee, which was more than the total prize fund of the tournament. However his management company, IMG, expressed that the reason Woods attended the event was because his mother is from Thailand. When he arrived at the airport there were 1,000 people waiting for him and four of the country's five television stations carried his arrival live.[1] After an opening round of 70 (−2) that put him three shots behind,[2] Woods shot 64-66-68 over the last three days to win by ten strokes.[1]

Year Winner Score To par Margin ofvictory Runner-up Winner'sshare ($) Venue Ref.
Asian Honda Classic
1997 United States Tiger Woods 268 −20 10 strokes South Korea Mo Joong-kyung 48,000 Thai CC [1]
Honda Invitational
1996 Australia Steve Elkington 281 −7 1 stroke Philippines Felix Casas 48,450 Blue Canyon [3]
  1. ^ a b c Diaz, Jaime (17 February 1997). "Thais That Bind: Tiger Woods dad to juggle a slew of demands in the homeland of his mother". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  2. ^ Horn, Robert (6 February 1997). "Woods battles heat, opens with 70 in Thailand tournament". Associated Press. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Sports Shorts". Associated Press. 6 May 1996.