The Honda, Baseball and Spring

Ahhhh....The Honda Classic. For a B-List tournament, the Tour Review welcomes the Honda more than it probably deserves. Regardless, there are numerous reasons to like the Honda:

• Jackie Gleason: He started the tournament in 1972, the year Tom Weiskopf defeated Jack Nicklaus by a stroke. Yours truly attended one of the earliest Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classics. We saw Gleason's Rolls Royce golf cart and obtained Bob Murphy's autograph -- heady stuff for a 10-year old.
  
• Nice International Field: Most top American players skip the event. But the international guys stick around and will play most of the next five tournaments as warm-ups to the Masters. So Ernie Els, Sergio Garica, Luke Donald, Robert Allenby, Trevor Immelmen and Retief Goosen are all playing.
• East Coast Golf: As a card carrying member of the elite East Coast media, the Tour Review welcomes the return of east coast golf. Combined with Spring Training, Florida PGA golf means one thing: spring is just around the corner.

So the course isn't great, Jackie Gleason has been dead for over 20 years, Tiger and the Phat One can't be bothered attending. Whatever. Pull up a chair, welcome the return of stroke play and the return of Florida golf.