In the buildup to the Verizon IndyCar Series’ season opener at St. Petersburg on March 12, a number of drivers are visiting other sporting events of note.
Graham Rahal has been one of the busiest. The driver of the No. 15 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing made a pit stop at the Bridgestone Winter Classic in January and this week has been out to the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Made it to West Palm Beach. Excited to be apart of the @TheHondaClassic golf Pro-Am tomorrow! Hopefully we play well! @honda @RahalHondaSC
— Graham Rahal (@GrahamRahal) February 21, 2017
Tons of fun @TheHondaClassic but now it's back to SoCal for a night. Excited to see my man @richeisen tomorrow mornin on the @RichEisenShow!
— Graham Rahal (@GrahamRahal) February 23, 2017
Anyway, 28-year-old Rahal is an avid PGA Tour follower and fan and when time allows, brushes off his own set of clubs for the event’s Honda Classic Cares Pro Am presented by Tire Kingdom. He’s also used golf as a fundraiser; he’s raised over $300,000 to benefit children’s charities (with the golf tournament he did around the Indy 500).
Rahal, who won the Pro Am twice in 2011 and 2012 and came second the next year with motorsports fan Rickie Fowler, himself one of the young stars on the PGA Tour, was only able to get in four holes this week owing to poor weather. But with a new putter that’s the same model as the one used by recent world number one player Jason Day, Rahal sank a rather impressive 40-foot putt. Rahal was playing in a group with Smylie Kaufman, and credited him for the advice.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ1UO0DFF72/
A handful of photos from the event are below (courtesy Honda Racing):