The final leg of The Florida Swing tees off on Friday as the PGA National Champion course in Palm Beach plays host to the 49th edition of The Honda Classic.
Hot on the heels of last week’s thrilling PLAYERS Championship, this year’s field is a little light on talent with several big names opting for some rest with the Masters less than a month away.
Much like TPC Sawgrass, PGA National calls for consistent ball-striking and accuracy off the tee in favour of putting. Water surrounds just about every hole on the course, while the dreaded ‘Bear Trap’ stretch of 15, 16, and 17 is always a key highlight.
Pebble Beach Pro-Am winner Daniel Berger and defending champion Sungjae Im headline the top of the market, however, it is worth noting long shots have typically fared well at this event over the years.
With plenty of value across the board, you can find our best bets, best value, and best roughies ahead of this year’s Honda Classic below.
2021 The Honda Classic Best Bet
Lee Westwood at $19.00
Westwood has the runs on the board at PGA National to suggest he can finally break through and claim the prize-money.
The Englishman has finished Top 10 on four occasions at this event, which includes last year’s T4 where he sat one off the lead after 36 holes.
After finishing runner-up at the Arnold Palmer and THE PLAYERS, the last fortnight has been stressful, to say the least. But since this course favours consistent ball-striking over Westwood’s main kryptonite, putting, he should be right in the thick of things once again.
Shane Lowry at $23.00
Lowry was exceptional last week at TPC Sawgrass where he opened with a first-round 68 on his way to finish outright eighth.
If it wasn’t for a second round 74, the Irishman probably would have found himself somewhere in the top three on the final day, but unfortunately, his putter went cold when it mattered most.
Still, this was an important return to form for a player that is so far three-for-three at PGA National.
2021 The Honda Classic Best Value
Keegan Bradley at $41.00
Things get rough pretty quickly in this year’s market, which leaves guys like Keegan Bradley at juicy odds.
The 34-year-old hasn’t tasted victory since he won the BMW Championship back in 2018, but he’s quietly ranked 10th on Tour in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green.
Bradley’s recent also makes for easy reading: a T10 at the Arnold Palmer before a respectable T29 last week at TPC Sawgrass that included a final round 69.
In nine appearances at this event, he’s missed the cut on four occasions but also finished inside the Top 15 three times.
With some consistent ball-striking to match (T14 on Tour), Bradley is my best value play of the weekend.
Jhonattan Vegas at $51.00
The Tour veteran finds himself on the Florida Swing after finishing runner-up last month Branden Grace at the Puerto Rico Open.
He struggled to repeat that effort last week at THE PLAYERS, but there is a bit to like about the Venezuelan ahead of his return to PGA National.
Not only does Vegas rank seventh in Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee, he’s also finished Top 20 on three occasions at The Honda Classic.
2021 The Honda Classic Best Roughie
Henrik Norlander at $81.00
The Swede has missed the cut in two of his last three tournaments, but the stats suggest he could be poised for a bounce-back this week.
Despite some struggles, Norlander ranks sixth on Tour in ball-striking, while this will also be his second look at PGA National.
The last two winners, Sungjae Im and Keith Mitchell won the tournament in their second appearance. If Norlander can clean up his short game, he’s in with a chance.
C.T. Pan at $176.00
Very easy to forget C.T. Pan’s T7 at Augusta last year.
Outside of a T20 at The Genesis Invitational, not a whole lot has gone right for him, but he has played well at PGA National in the past finishing T37 on debut before an even better T17 in 2018.
