Our golf expert brings you his preview and predictions for this week's PGA Tour event, The Honda Classic.
The Honda Classic - Winner
The Honda field suffers a little this year as it comes in the midst of a tight schedule for the worlds best the week after Sawgrass and on the home straight to Augusta. This is always a fun event to watch as it remains one of the more difficult tracks on tour. Only once over the last eight years have we had a winning score above 10 under par and generally speaking a figure around 8 under would be hard to beat. That will more than likely play out once again this year with little rain in the area recently and winds expected to be moderate throughout increasing at the weekend. Harrington, McIlroy, Els, Hamilton, Leonard and O'Meara have all won this event and the Open Championship whilst Open/wind specialists like Fowler and Scott have also taken the spoils. It pays to look at those who are very strong tee to green as there are plenty of hazards to ruin scores here. Scrambling is another stat worth mentioning as it is inevitable par putts will be key to protect a score.
JT Poston at 60/1 (8 Places)
JT Poston looks worth a play this week after an encouraging top 25 last week at Sawgrass. That was accomplished losing nearly two strokes to the field on approach, a venue which requires you to be on your game hitting into those greens. PGA National is similar in the fact that you'll need solid approach play here to score well. Poston has had some horror weeks on that front lately. Losing over seven strokes on approach at the Amex resulted in a missed cut. He lost over four strokes on approach at the Farmers yet posted a top 20. His best week lately was in Phoenix when he gained over four when finishing 11th. The lesson in here though is that when a solid week arrives on approach play then he will have a serious chance. He is putting tremendously well his last five events so I'd expect him to tick the scrambling box over the week. He has two top tens at the Heritage, a seaside track that requires a good tee to green game. If his long game clicks this week he could prove tough to beat.
1.5pts each-way JT Poston 60/1 (1/5 8)
Talor Gooch at 40/1 (8 Places)
I expected Talor Gooch to be slightly shorter in the market and I'm more than happy to get involved at 40/1. Since his 12th palced finish at the Genesis he has carried form over to Florida with 43rd at the Arnold Palmer then an impressive 5th last week at Sawgrass. His short game is in such good shape heading here having gained strokes on and around the greens in his last three events. That could be key this week given the weather forecast and holing par putts will become crucial over the weekend. He got used to that last week at Sawgrass and should be fit for the task. As I say I expected him to be shorter after last weeks effort so mainly the price is enticing me to back.
1.25pts each-way T.Gooch 40/1 (1/5 8)
Keegan Bradley at 55/1 (8 Places)
Keegan Bradley loves a battle and this will prove to be a battle of endurance over the weekend. His record on the East Coast is very solid with his three of his four wins coming along this side. The Bridgestone, BMW and PGA were all won in nearby states and he is worth supporting having turned a corner on the greens. Bradley went eight events on the spin losing strokes to the field on the greens but has turned that around since arriving on the East Coast. 10th at the Arnold Palmer and 29th last week at Sawgrass whilst gaining on greens both weeks is a sign that Bradley could be about to contend once again. He is clearly at his best at the tougher tests and a 4th place here back in 2013 shows us he is capable. His wins have come in deeper fields than this and Bradley could be one you'd be happy to have on side at the weekend here.
1.25pts each-way K.Bradley 55/1 (1/5 8)
Chris Kirk at 40/1 (6 Places)
Chris Kirk didn't get everything he deserved last week with a horror show on the greens. He finished 48th in the end but this by no means was the story of his week contending throughout before shooting a desperate 79 when he needed it least. Kirk's long game was once again in fine nick and should he produce similar this week he should gain enough tee to green to get into contention once again. Two runners up at the Sony and another second place finish at Pebble show us what he can do at these tracks exposed to wind and if he can manage to hole a few putts this week he may prove to be a tough cookie.
1pt each-way C.Kirk 40/1 (1/5 6)
Wesley Bryan at 125/1 (8 Places)
Wesley Bryan showed signs last year of returning to some kind of form with top 25 finishes at the Travelers and Rocket Mortgage. A 12th placed finish followed at the Sanderson and he has kicked off this year finishing 32nd at the Sony and 43rd at the Genesis. His only win on tour came at the Heritage where similarities lie. He also has a 4th place here back in 2017. His history as a trick shot supremo helps in these conditions no doubt and he is best suited to a seaside track. Before playing the Genesis he played a practice round with Jon Rahm and eventually adopted the specifications of Rahm's driver and put it into his bag. That could be a big positive for the immediate future and the bookies are alive to his chances at 125/1. I expected bigger but I think he's a lively outsider.
1pt each-way W.Bryan 125/1 (1/5 8)
