Continuing its tradition of showcasing the bright young stars in golf, the Honda Classic has awarded exemptions to Australian upstarts Aaron Baddeley and Adam Scott to play in the 2001 tournament.
Baddeley, 19, has won twice recently in Australia, outdueling Sergio Garcia in a playoff to win the Greg Norman Holden Invitational after successfully defending his title at the Australian Open, which he first won as an amateur in 1999. Baddeley has earned a two-year exemption on the European Tour but returns to the location of his PGA debut. He played the 2000 Honda Classic as an amateur, making the cut and finishing 56th. He then was paired with Tiger Woods on the first two days of The Masters.
His playoff victory over Garcia was certainly the highlight of his career so far. He holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole.
Scott, 20, is also considered a potential superstar on the rise after a blistering professional start in Europe. He turned pro last June, had three top-10 finishes in his first six starts, then won at Houghton Johannesburg in the Alfred Dunhill Championship, the first tournament of the new European season.
Scott is drawing comparisons to Woods because they are of similar build, share Butch Harmon as coach and possess almost identical golf swings.
