The field isn’t the best this week at PGA National. After every member of the world’s top-10 teed it up at Riviera, every member of world’s top-10 is taking his time in getting to Florida for a month of tournaments there. The Honda Classic is the first of four straight events in the Sunshine State, and none of the world’s best are playing.
It could be that rest is needed, or it could be that the course played as the third-most difficult non-major course on tour in 2021. At last year’s event, 270 balls found their way into the water, and with high winds in the forecast for this week, that number is expected to climb.
What that means is that in this year’s edition of The Honda Classic – everything can change on any given hole.
Favorites to Win The Honda Classic
- Sungjae Im (+1200)
- Daniel Berger (+1600)
- Joaquin Niemann (+1800)
- Louis Oosthuizen (+1800)
- Billy Horschel (+2000)
- Brooks Koepka (+2200)
- Tommy Fleetwood (+2200)
- Shane Lowry (+2800)
- Alex Noren (+3300)
- Keith Mitchell (+3300)
Sungjae Im is your favorite, as the only member of this group of favorites who finished in the top-10 at last year’s tournament. He was tied for eighth at -5. He won here in 2020, and four weeks ago at the Farmers, he finished tied for sixth with a -13.
Daniel Berger has been a tough one to figure out in 2022, having withdrawn from Pebble Beach, even though he was the defending champion. Then Berger missed the cut at the Phoenix Open. But he also finished fifth at the Sentry Tournament of Champions with a -25 and was top-20 at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Berger was also fourth at The Honda Classic in 2020, his last time in the event, and he has a runner-up at PGA National from 2015.
Alex Noren, paying +3300 is also a good value play. He recently tied for sixth at the Phoenix Open, and he’s a good par grinder on a tough course, which is exactly the kind of player who can get it done this week.
Longshots Worth a Look
Because of all the water, ball striking is key at PGA National. Jhonattan Vegas, who is paying +5000, has been the fourth-best ball-striker over the last 50 rounds. He also finished with a T4 at this event in 2017.
Mackenzie Hughes is another very good value play at +5000. He just had a T16 at Pebble Beach, and when he played at PGA National in 2020, he was the runner-up to Im’s tournament win.
Chris Kirk is also paying +5000 and is coming off a T14 at the Phoenix Open. He’s played The Honda Classic every year since 2011 and has finished as high as 12th.
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