The PGA Tour will shift to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and the PGA National Club Championship Course for this week’s Honda Classic. The beginning of the Florida Swing is expected to coincide with some heavy winds that will surely separate the prime contenders from the pretenders when they tee off this week. Let’s take a closer look at the Honda Classic and see which players are worth a bet this week:
Event Details
Event: Honda Classic
Category: PGA
Date: February 28th-March 3rd, 2019
Location: PGA National Club (Championship Course), Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Past Five Winners
2018: Justin Thomas -8
2017: Rickie Fowler -12
2016: Adam Scott -9
2015: Padraig Harrington -6
2014: Russell Henley -12
Justin Thomas +505
Standing alone atop the list of betting favorites for this event is Thomas, who won this event a year ago in a playoff. Thomas led the field in strokes gained: tee to green and scrambling during the first four rounds of that event. He also showed nerves of steel finishing the job in a playoff. Thomas is the current PGA Tour leader in strokes gained: tee-to-green this season so he should be primed for another strong performance this week as he defends his title. While he isn’t exactly outstanding value at +505 odds, Thomas is the clear-cut favorite for a reason.
Rickie Fowler +1015
Fowler is another former Honda Classic winner that has all of the tools to contend for the victory again. He actually missed the cut in his title defense here a year ago but still has four top-15 finishes at this tournament, including his victory in 2017. Considering the difference in price tag between he and Thomas, Fowler should be a popular betting option.
Brooks Koepka +1250
Koepka is being somewhat overlooked this week because of a poor resume at this course and a bit of a rough ride in recent weeks. He won The CJ Cup but has since finished tied for 16th or worse in his other three starts. However, Koepka is still an incredible golfer with all of the tools necessary to win. The key will be putting it all together as a hometown favorite this week.
Sergio Garcia +1550
Garcia is coming off a strong performance at Chapultepec where he registered a top-10 finish, which was his third already in 2019. He has never missed the cut in eight starts at this tournament, including a runner-up result in 2016 and three additional top-15 finishes. Garcia is a great links player, so he has to be considered among the contenders in this week’s field.
Adam Scott +1250
Scott won this tournament back in 2016 and has finished inside the top-15 in each of his four starts dating back to 2014. If we look at his career resume at this course as well as his recent results, we can surmise that he should be in the mix. He is 18th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained. Putting at such a high level should make Scott a contender.
Gary Woodland +1650
Woodland is currently third in the FedEx Cup standings despite failing to register a victory so far this season. Is this the week that changes? Woodland is already a two-time runner-up this season and he has six top-10 results to his name, which is a PGA Tour-high so far. Factor in that he was a co-runner-up at PGA National two years ago and there is a good shot that Woodland should be in the mix again.
Michael Thompson +5500
Digging much deeper on the value chart for this week, Thompson stands out as a potential deep sleeper pick. He actually won this event back in 2013 and although he hasn’t won since, he has been in quality form recently. He tied for seventh at the Genesis Open, 10th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, tied for 13th at the Farmers Insurance Open and ninth at the Desert Classic. That’s his last four tournaments.
The fact that he isn’t among the favorites to contend here is actually what makes him such a good pick. If you are willing to take a shot on a deep sleeper pick, then Thompson might be one of the better options on the board for a home run shot.
Charl Schwartzel +6550
Sticking with the theme of swinging for the fences, Schwartzel’s price tag is even more attractive this week at a whopping +6550 odds. A former Major winner that has performed very well at Florida courses throughout his career, Schwartzel has posted some excellent figures at PGA National with three straight top-15 finishes including a fifth-place result. The South African should enter this week’s tournament with a ton of confidence and no pressure of expectations.
Odds To Win 2019 Honda Classic
Justin Thomas +505
Rickie Fowler +1015
Brooks Koepka +1250
Adam Scott +1250
Sergio Garcia +1550
Gary Woodland +1650
Webb Simpson +2250
Cameron Smith +2250
Billy Horschel +3250
Daniel Berger +3250
Luke List +3550
Scott Piercy +5050
Byeong Hun An +4550
Alex Noren +4550
Emiliano Grillo +3550
Russell Knox +5500
Matt Wallace +6550
Lucas Glover +5500
Jason Kokrak +5500
Michael Thompson +5500
Zach Johnson +5500
Kiradech Aphibarnrat +5500
JT Poston +7550
Graeme McDowell +6550
Sung Jae Im +7550
Russell Henley +5500
Charl Schwartzel +6550
Sung Kang +8550
Trey Mullinax +8550
Dylan Frittelli +7550
