Golf: PGA Tour – Honda Classic
Venue: PGA National Golf Club, Florida
Dates: Thursday 27th February – Sunday 1st March 2020
Tournament Preview
The Honda Classic is one of the most infamous events on the PGA Tour and with attention beginning to turn towards the first major tournaments of the year, a stellar field has assembled in Florida. The event which has taken on many guises first being introduced onto the tour in 1972, possesses a healthy prize pot over $7 million and with an impressive roll call of previous winners, it promises to be a fascinating week of golf in the Sunshine State. Previous winners of the event include Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Vijay Singh and Ernie Els – underlining the stature of the event on the PGA Tour. With plenty to play for, it promises to be an excellent week at Palm Beach.
Betting Preview
Outright Winner
The field in Florida is strong with some of the biggest names from America, Europe and beyond all chasing a slice of glory:
With 4 top 10 finishes from his last 6 appearances, Tommy Fleetwood is in fine form and he recovered well to finish in the top 20 in Mexico last week. He looks to be one to watch.
The Honda Classic is the next step in Brooks Koepka’s road to recovery and with major titles to go for again in a couple of months’ time, he’ll be eager to find form as quickly as possible.
The major title continues to elude Rickie Fowler and he will be keen to pick himself up from an inauspicious start to 2020 in an event he finished runner up in last season.
Defending US Open champion Gary Woodland is still seeking the form that saw him lift his maiden major trophy and he should enjoy the conditions in Florida this week.
With an Olympic gold medal to defend this summer, Justin Rose will be desperate to get back to winning ways after a poor 2019 by his exceptionally high standards.
1st Round Leader
The whole field here in Florida will believe they can get off to a strong start and if they do so they could set themselves up for the week ahead:
A six-under-par final round saw Billy Horschel finish inside the top-10 at the WGC Mexico last weekend and he will be keen to pick up where he left off in Florida this week.
South African Erik van Rooyen looks set to challenge on the PGA Tour this season and his 3rd place finish in Mexico last time out was a clear indicator of his progress at this level.
Argentinian Emiliano Grillo came out of nowhere to challenge last week at the Puerto Rico Open and he will be desperate to stamp his authority on this event from the outset.
Top 10 Finish
With so many good players assembled here in Florida, getting into the winning enclosure could be tough but there are plenty of candidates to finish in the top 10 come Sunday:
South African Louis Oosthuizen is a pillar of consistency across both the European and PGA Tours and he will inevitably be in the mix come Sunday if he plays his best golf.
2018 Honda Classic runner up Luke List hasn’t been in the best of form of late but he clearly enjoys the conditions here in Florida and he could be an outside shot for a top 10 finish.
With a win already under his belt this season, Lee Westwood continually goes under the radar at big events and with a Ryder Cup place to play for, he will be all too aware of the need to keep picking up ranking points.
BetXChange Best Bets:
Outright Winner: Brooks Koepka – 14.00
1st Round Leader: Emiliano Grillo – 66.00
Top Ten Finish: Louis Oosthuizen – 2.75
