Nicklaus showed true colors with verdict on PGA | Golf News

PGA National, the venue for this week’s Cognizant Classic, is a level of immense pleasure for Jack Nicklaus, yet he harbored no disappointment when Jake Knapp tamed the course with a record-breaking spherical.

The Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, structure sits close to Nicklaus’ residence, and he undertook three separate redesigns of the power. A considerable overhaul in 1990 noticed the 18-time major winner set up the “Bear Trap,” the legendary sequence spanning holes 15-17, where numerous championship aspirations have been dashed through the years.

PGA National has earned a fame as one of the most demanding programs on the PGA Tour with its advanced greens and strong winds creating circumstances reminiscent of a U.S. Open-caliber take a look at. That fame has diminished in latest years, with fewer elite rivals getting into the event, previously recognized as The Honda Classic, prompting Justin Thomas to lament its decline.

In 2023, event officers overseeded the Bermuda grass with ryegrass to create softer taking part in circumstances and, consequently, an simpler problem. The match also sought to make its fairways look more vibrant.

Numerous gamers criticized the modifications, arguing they undermined the course’s character as a punishing golf examination. The complaints intensified when Knapp fired a scorching 12-under-par 59 during the opening spherical of the 2025 event, obliterating the prior course document of 61.

However, Nicklaus, who shares a deep bond with the match through its partnership with his Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, was far from disheartened to see his beloved course dismantled by Knapp.

“Guys hit it further, the conditions are good, you got a benign day and guys can shoot a good score,” he said during an look on NBC’s coverage. “That’s OK. I like that.

“If a golf course will not yield to good golf, then I do not assume it is a excellent golf course. Now, if you will have a [benign] day like we did Thursday, and three-under is the low rating, then I feel it is the golf course’s fault.”

Eight-time PGA Tour winner Billy Horschel held a starkly contrasting opinion, arguing that alterations to the grass composition had diminished what PGA National ought to represent.

“There was no wind, so it helps tremendously,” Horschel said. “You’ve acquired to tip your hat to [Knapp]. He shot a 12-under par 59 at PGA National, which no one ever thought [was possible].

“I know we had a discussion earlier this week and I’ve probably changed my tune a little bit. I think the overseed has – the rough is not long enough. It’s not penal enough when you miss the fairway.

“I actually want we might just play this as a straight Bermuda. From tee to inexperienced, every little thing be straight Bermuda. I do know it does not look prettier on TV, and I do know that’s one of the explanations why it is overseeded.”