The PGA Tour begins it's Florida swing with the 43rd edition of the Honda Classic. The Honda Classic will take place at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens on February 27 - March 2. Round 1 has a start time of 7:00 AM (ET). Current odds have both Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods listed as the favorites at 8/1.
PGA National is a Par 70, 7158 yard course that is considered to be one of the most difficult courses on the PGA Tour. There are 78 sand bunkers and 26 water hazards which make for a very demanding course. For this year's tournament all 63 bunkers on the course have been re-modelled and new traps have been added. The Weather forecast has possible rain on Friday, while it could be breezy over the weekend.
The Champion Course at PGA National is one of the toughest on the PGA Tour circuit, and it features a stretch from the 15th to the 17th, which have been dubbed "The Bear Trap" after course re-designer Jack Nicklaus. The Bear Trap has yielded some interesting numbers: 18% of all bogeys made in the tournament are made there, 32% of all double bogeys happen there and 42% of all triple bogeys or worse have ruined rounds there.
Last year the tournament was won by Michael Thompson, grabbing his first ever PGA tour win in the process. Other past winners include 2012 Rory McIlroy, 2011 Rory Sabbatini, 2010 Camillo Villegas, 2009 Y.E.Yang and 2008 Ernie Els. 7 of the top 8 golfers in the world will be at the Honda Classic, including Adam Scott, Phil Milchelson, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, who has never won this event. His best finish here was in 2012 when he finished Runner-up to Rory McIlroy.
Tiger has only been in two tournaments this year and has yet to finish higher than 41st. Rory McIlroy is eighth in the latest world rankings and has placed 11th or better in six of his last seven tournaments, including one victory. Adam Scott hasn't played since early January in Hawaii, and when he tees it up this week, it will be just his second start in the Honda Classic since 2003; the other came in 2011, and he missed the cut.
Camilo Villegas set the record at the Champion Course in 2010, when he finished at 267. Brian Harman holds the PGA National course record of 61 for a round in 2012.
Prediction: The Champions Course at PGA National requires accuracy over distance and golfers must putt well also. That has me looking at Zach Johnson to win it all. He is 4th in putting average and 1st in driving accuracy. plus 3rd in greens in regulation. I say that gives him an excellent shot at winning this one.
2 Head to Head Matchups--- The first one I like is Zach Johnson -125 over Keegan Bradley. Zach is a very accurate golfer, while Keegan is not ranked in the top 40 in either GIR, Driving Accuracy or putting. Since I like Zach to win it all I have to go with him over Keegan in this Matchup.
The other one I like is Patrick Reed -115 over Chris Kirk. Patrick reed is progressing nicely as a pro. at one point in 2012 he was ranked 1494th in the world and after 5 events this year he is now up to 44th in the world. In his 5 events this year he has finished in the top 20 in all 5, while winning the Humana Challenge. Chris has better driving accuracy numbers, but Patrick as a better putter (24th to 98th) and better in GIR (20th to 60th). Look for Patrick Reed to take down Chris Kirk here.
Top 25 Odds For The Honda Classic
Rory McIlroy 8/1
Tiger Woods 8/1
Adam Scott 16/1
Charl Schwartzel 20/1
Sergio Garcia 20/1
Graeme McDowell 22/1
Phil Mickelson 22/1
Henrik Stenson 25/1
Justin Rose 25/1
Zach Johnson 25/1
Keegan Bradley 28/1
Rickie Fowler 28/1
Hideki Matsuyama 33/1
Lee Westwood 50/1
Louis Oosthuizen 50/1
Luke Donald 50/1
Billy Horschel 55/1
Charles Howell III 55/1
Chris Kirk 55/1
Michael Thompson 66/1
Patrick Reed 66/1
Luke Guthrie 75/1
Ryan Palmer 75/1
Thorbjorn Olesen 75/1
Cameron Tringale 80/1
Thanks to Bleacher Report, PGATour.com and SportsNews.com for providing info needed for this article.
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PGA Golf Picks: Honda Classic
What golf bettors need to know betting the Honda Classic, which begins on Thursday (2/26/14) -- free picks from Pregame.com's Brady Kannon, with David Glisan.