The PGA tour’s annual West Coast swing wrapped up last weekend with an exceptional finish at Riveria Country Club. Max Homa started the day on Sunday 3 back from Jon Rahm. I think everyone watching figured Rahm had it in the bag, besides Homa. Max gave us some fireworks on the back nine, even taking a one stroke lead on the 12th. But to no avail, the big hairy winning machine continued to do what he does, making birdies on both par 3’s to slam the door closed on the rest of the field.
Now, after back to back elevated events and loaded fields, the boys are heading across the country to Florida to kick off the East Coast swing… expect most of the boys are taking the week off. The field at the Honda Classic will feature just 8 of the top 50 players in the OWGR. The tournament is headlined by Loon Golf favorite and the 2020 winner, Sungjae Im. Besides Sungjae, the Honda will feature Billy Ho, Shane Lowry and defending champ Sepp Strakka. Some field right?!
Here at Loon HQ, we’re also hoping to catch a plane to Florida this week (if we can get out of MSP with the 2 feet of snow expected). Although, we’re heading to our quarter one meeting in Miami, not to the golf course in Palm Beach. With that being said, we’re going to keep the preview short and probably will be too busy slamming Bud Lights on the beach to be tweeting much about the tournament.
The Course:
The PGA National Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens is truly one of the most challenging courses on tour. Loaded with bunkers and water hazards, in the last 5 years the average winning score is just -9. PGA National is home to the Bear Trap, one of the most difficult three-hole stretches out there. Holes 15-17 at PGA National force players to put their nuts on the line, whether they’re ready for it or not. The Bear Trap will make or break the tournament for every single player and we’re sure to have an exciting finish come Sunday. The course itself is a par 70, measuring just over 7,000 yards.
This will be the last time Honda is the the title sponsor of this event, understandably so, this tournament has been on the decline for years. They’ve been pouring millions of dollars into this event, but for what? For none of the big names to play? For nobody to watch? It’s not completely their fault, there’s just some unfortunate timing with the schedule and PGA National is an incredibly difficult course. Not many of these guys want to fly across the country Monday morning after The Genesis just to shoot 3 over and miss the weekend. Essentially we’re going to get to watch an elevated Korn Ferry event this week, which for golf sickos like myself out there, that’s not the worst thing in the world but I doubt the casual fans will be tuning in. Smart move by Honda to get out of this deal.
The Picks:
Top 20:
Magz: Chris Kirk +110
Beast: Billy Horschel +120
Don’t let Billy’s inconsistent form as of late fool you, he’s almost always in form at PGA National. He’s 5 for 6 at this event since 2016, with 4 top 20 finishes. Billy is still looking for his first win in his home state of Florida, why not this week?
Top 10:
Magz: Sepp Straka +400
Beast: Denny McCarthy +250
Denny is dialed (T-14 at the Genesis). He’s a Jupiter, FL resident who is proven to be comfortable at PGA National, finishing 30th last season and 3rd in 2021. His putter should stay hot and when it does he‘ll be in the mix to win this thing outright on Sunday.
Matchups:
Magz: Sungjae Im to beat Shane Lowry -150
Beast: Sepp Straka to beat Lee Hodges +110
Sepp Straka is the defending champion at The Honda Classic. He’s made 4 straight cuts and should be ready to go come Thursday. Lee Hodges missed 5 straight cuts to before a T-18 finish last week. He fizzled out on the weekend, so I’m still not confident he’s out of his slump. Regardless, Straka is the better player and should prove that with a strong week in Florida.
Outright Winners:
Magz: Denny McCarthy +2500
Beast: Sungjae Im +800
It’s Sungjae’s week. I’m buying the shirt when he wins Sunday night.
YTD Loon Golf Results:
Magz: -4.4U YTD, -0.6 units last week
Beast: -8.0U YTD, +0.5 units last week
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