PGA Tour: Honda Classic Preview

The 2018 Honda Classic at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, FL is here and Rickie Fowler is looking to repeat as champion. (He’s also the Vegas favorite at 9/1) while Tiger Woods is a 50/1 long shot to win the event.

Tiger shot a forgettable +6 last week at the Genesis Open at Riviera (won by Bubba Watson at -12) and this was quite possibly the worst return to golf (again) for Tiger. As a matter of fact, his +6 score was so bad, that he missed the cut by 4 strokes. I’ll preview a later article here with this shocking take, Tiger isn’t back and probably never will be. He has all the talent in the world but it’s his mental game that must come back. I don’t expect much from Tiger in this event.

On to last years winner, Rickie Fowler. He won with a -12 268 to claim the 4 stroke victory over Morgan Hoffman and Gary Woodland for (ironically) his 4th PGA Tour victory. Rickie could easily repeat in the event but he has a rather average year so far on tour, granted it is very early. He sits 23rd currently on the FedEx Cup standings five spots behind last week’s winner Bubba Watson and 772 points behind leader Patton Kizzire. I wouldn’t put too much stock into that this early in the year, very seldom does the leader in February actually ends up winning in September. I expect big things from Rickie again this year at the Honda Classic, but I’m not picking him to win.

PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR:

Sergio Garcia – Yes the Spaniard is poised to make a splash. He finally broke his winless streak in majors last year when he out dueled Olympic Gold Medalist Justin Rose at the Masters on the first playoff hole. He looks to get started on defending his Masters title with a win at the Honda Classic. Look for a top 10 finish from Sergio.

Justin Thomas – Last year’s FedEx Cup winner who had a season for the ages last year looks to prove that he isn’t a one hit wonder. One of the top young American players besides Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson wants to begin to separate himself from them. I expect at least a top 10, if not top 5 finish from Justin.

Rory McIlroy – Rory has been quiet lately and he’s one of the big four in golf. I don’t expect him to stay quiet much longer. He comes into the event as a 10/1 odds to win the event right behind Rickie. Question for him is will he be able to control himself off the tee to set up easier putts. I think a top 10 finish is in line for Rory.

MY PICK

Kevin Kisner – Yes, Kevin Kisner is my long shot winner. He has had a rather bumpy year but I have a hunch about Kisner. He currently sits 77th on the FedEx cup and a 50/1 odds to win but I think his game fits this course well. He’s extremely good at shaping his shots and I look for him to take control of this course. Kisner is #31 in the Official World Golf Rankings and he’s in the top 10 on the PGA Tour in two key areas: driving accuracy (6th, 72.12 %) and birdie average (8th, 4.58). He’s also in the top 20 in GIR (greens in regulation) at 72.51% and will move up the Honda Classic leaderboard if he keeps it up.

–Brian Berard (@RockyBerard)