The NBC guys just couldn’t help themselves Sunday during the final round of the Honda Classic.
With Rickie Fowler marching to his fourth PGA Tour title and the rest of the would-be challengers floundering around the PGA National re-designed by Jack Nicklaus, the conversation somehow slipped to a guy who wasn’t there.
Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller were up to their usual shenanigans when Nicklaus joined them for part of the final nine holes.
While Gary Woodland was finishing bogey-bogey to blow solo second, Hicks earlier couldn’t help but fire a question at Nicklaus.
“What’s your take on Tiger Woods?” Hicks blurted.
Nicklaus shrugged his shoulders and quickly responded: “I don’t have a take!”
Nicklaus has been asked about Woods at least a thousand times over the past 10 years and he got it once again and his answer was perfect.
“I don’t really know,” Nicklaus said without hesitation. “And I don’t think he (Tiger) knows. It’s sad to see it happen.”
Woods was stashed away in his lair about 20 minutes up the road from PGA National. Probably not watching, the last thing he needs is to watch a bunch of nobodies playing well.
Fowler was the big name in the field and he responded in style, finishing off his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour to claim his fourth victory.
Only Gary Woodland put up a mild challenge, cutting into Fowler’s four-shot overnight lead, cutting it to a shot before Fowler made long birdie putts at the 12th and 13th holes to pull away.
It was a race for second and Woodland blew that with a bogey at the 17th then a confusing bogey at the final hole, the par five 18th where he chose to layup and hit his second shot into the water. His eventual closing bogey dropped him to eight-under par and a tie for second with Morgan Hoffman.
