2024 PGA Cognizant Classic Preview Plus PGA Odds this Weekend

Previous Betting News

The West Coast swing that just finished on the PGA Tour saw a number of terrific finishes and stacked fields, capped off by Jon Rahm’s win at the Genesis Invitational this past weekend. Now, the Tour heads east to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, for the Honda Classic, with a field that is, to put it diplomatically, less highly regarded. Shane Lowry (ranked 20th in the Official World Golf Rankings) and Sungjae Im (18th) are the favorites, and just eight of the top 50 players in the rankings have entered the tournament. Sepp Straka of Austria is the defending champion, and he returns to make another play for some of the $8.4 million prize pool and the 500 FedExCup points that are available. The winner also gets a slot in The Masters and the PGA Championship for 2023 and the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii for 2024. Let’s look at the PGA odds (+10000 and better) and some online betting suggestions.

Golf News: 2023 Honda Classic Preview

PGA National Resort and the Champion Course runs 7,125 yards (par 70) and has Bermuda grass on the fairways and greens. Windy conditions are common here, which makes iron play a priority. Players who excel tee-to-green do well here; four of the last five champions led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. Winners have needed to reach at least 10 under par to win in eight of the last ten years. One factor at this course is a higher percentage (65%) of shots falling between 125 and 200 yards, and this is the toughest course on the Tour for approaches of at least 150 yards. The “Bear Trap” (holes 15-17) has two par-threes and a ton of water, making it one of the five toughest three-hole stretches on the tour.

The low overall quality of this field in terms of top talent often leads to longshot winners; Straka won at +10000 odds in difficult weather a year ago. Such longshots as Matthias Schwab, Alex Noren, Chris Kirk, Brian Stuard and Adam Svensson all cracked the Honda Classic’s top ten a year ago, so don’t be afraid to put some daring names on your wager card, if their stats match up.

Denny McCarthy started 2023 off with a bang, finishing T4 at Pebble Beach and 14th at the Genesis Invitational. Last weekend’s finish included a solid 64 on Saturday at Riviera. His career-best result on the PGA Tour came at this same course, PGA National, back in 2021, so the course definitely won’t present any problems.

Sungjae Im is one of the favorites, and with good reason. He has two career wins on the PGA Tour, but none since 2021. He finished T4 at the Farmers Insurance Open and sixth at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and since July 2022, he has seven finishes in the top ten. In this field, he is tops in Strokes Gained, and his tee shots have been particularly effective.

Matt Kuchar took eighth at the Genesis Invitational last week, and he has nine career wins on the PGA Tour. However, the 44-year-old has no wins since 2019. His first career win, though, came at the Honda Classic – in 2002. He has a moving average of +1.1 Shots Gained (Total) over the last 50 rounds.

Golf Betting Odds

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Previous Betting News

The PGA Tour heads across the country to sunny Florida, as PGA National’s Champion course in Palm Beach Gardens will host the 2020 Honda Classic. The course is a par 70 this week, running 7,125 yards, and the golfers will change from poa annua greens to Bermudagrass. The Honda Classic has taken place here since 2007, and PGA National has also hosted the Ryder Cup and the PGA Championship in the past. Keith Mitchell is the defending champion, as he fought off runners-up Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka to take first place. All three of them return this year, and other notables include Gary Woodland, Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood. PGA National is a tough course, with the fourth highest scores relative to par in 2019. The greens are hard to reach, and holes 15-17, called “The Bear Trap,” make the third toughest three-hole stretch on the Tour. Water hazards are a part of 15 of the 18 holes. So golfers who do well in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green should be on your sports betting list, as should golfers who play well on par 4 holes, which are more common on par 70 courses. Check out the golf odds list, which has the contenders (+10000 or better) as well as our suggestions for your wager cards.

The Honda Classic Preview & Odds

• Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood +1200
• Rickie Fowler +1400
• Gary Woodland +2200
• Billy Horschel, Justin Rose, Louis Oosthuizen +2500
• Sungjae Im, Viktor Hovland +2800
• Byeong Hun An, Daniel Berger +3300
• Shane Lowry +4000
• Erik Van Rooyen, J.T. Poston, Joaquin Niemann +5000
• Corey Conners, Harris English, Ian Poulter, Jason Kokrak, Kevin Mitchell, Lucas Glover, Matthew Wolff, Ryan Palmer, Wyndham Clark +6600
• Adam Schenk, Bud Cauley, Charl Schwartzel, Emiliano Grillo, Harold Varner III, Harry Higgs, Jhonattan Vegas, Jim Furyk, Keegan Bradley, Kevin Streelman, Kurt Kitayama, Lee Westwood, Luke List, Matthew Nesmith, Maverick McNealy, Rory Sabbatini, Russel Henley, Russell Knox, Vaughn Taylor +8000
• Brian Harman, Cameron Tringale, Denny McCarthy, Kyle Stanley, Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Matt Wallace, Patrick Rodgers, Sam Burns, Talor Gooch, Tom Lewis +10000

Gary Woodland has made the cut in six straight Honda Classic appearances, and he has gained strokes using his approach game in 12 of his last 14 tournaments, going all the way back to March 2019. He had a 65 at WGC-Mexico on Saturday last week but his putter betrayed him on Sunday. On Bermuda, he has putted quite well, ranking ninth in this field in Strokes Gained: Putting over his last two tournaments, and his hitting has been terrific at this course. In his last three Honda Classics, he has ranked second in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and fifth in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee.

Billy Horschel has finished in the top ten in two consecutive tournaments. He excels at par 70 courses, and he is seventh in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green in his last three tournaments on par 70 courses. Horschel is first in Par 4 efficiency in this field over his last three tournaments. He has putted well on Bermuda, ranking tenth in this field in Strokes Gained: Putting for his last 50 rounds on this surface.

Sam Burns has gained strokes via ball striking in four straight tournaments. In his last two tournaments at PGA National, he has gained 6.3 strokes using his approach and almost eight strokes with his putting. In his last 12 rounds, he ranks fourth in Par 4 Efficiency in this field. He finished in the top ten here two years ago and already has a top-ten finish this season.

Chesson Hadley missed the cut in his last tournament, in Puerto Rico, but don’t let that distract you, as his ball striking has gained him strokes in seven of his last eight events. He did shoot -2 on Friday in Puerto Rico, so that should give him some momentum. At this course, he has a top-20 and two top-25 finishes in three of his last five tournaments. Over his last 24 rounds, he ranks 12th in this field in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green.

Previous Betting News

The PGA Tour leaves the West Coat for PGA National’s Champions Course for the 2019 Honda Classic. This course has a stretch of three holes on the back nine known as “The Bear Trap,” one of the toughest series of holes on the Tour. PGA National does not favor big hitters, because water is in play on 16 of the 18 holes, and the Bermuda rough penalizes a lack of accuracy off the tee. So a lot of players will club down off the tee, but there’s still the problem of approach shots, as that Bermuda rough is also tight around the greens. The average wind can often exceed 15 of 20 miles per hour, so there is a premium on keeping the ball low. Expect the cut line to be a shot or two over par and the winning score to be around -8 or -10. We have your golf betting odds for the contenders as well as our thoughts about some picks for your betting cards.

2019 Honda Classic Odds & Preview

When: Thursday, Feb. 28 – Sunday, Mar. 3
Where: PGA National — Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
TV: Golf Channel

Contender Odds to Win the 2019 Honda Classic

Brooks Koepka doesn’t offer a ton of value, and he doesn’t have a terrific body of work so far in 2019, but he had a dominant 2018 — and isn’t getting that respect on the moneyline. At this event, he has missed the cut in 2017, tied for 26th in 2016 and tied for 51st in 2015, but his game has taken huge since strides since then. He couldn’t putt for his life at WGC-Mexico, but it would not surprise me at all to see him bounce back in a big way.

Harold Varner is an intriguing dark horse here, because his consistency this year has been impressive. He missed the cut here in 2016 but made it in each of the last two years, and this could be the sort of venue where he gets that first win of his career.

Webb Simpson is one of the best pure strikers in the game, but he still provides fairly good value. Last year, he tied for fifth here, and his putting is much better on Bermuda grass greens than other surfaces, making this a solid choice for him. He also is in the elite of the PGA when it comes to striking accuracy. His last win came at the Players Championship in 2018, which has a lot of similarities with the track he’ll play this weekend.

Billy Horschel is a native Floridian, so the weather and win should not surprise him. His last missed cut came in July at the RBC Canadian Open, and he has cracked the top 25 in five of his last seven tournaments. He’s been right there on Sunday a number of times over the last few months, so even though the Honda Classic hasn’t been the best place for him (four missed cuts in seven appearances), he has finished fourth and eighth the last two times he has made it to the weekend.

Sergio Garcia came in sixth last week, finishing -10, as a dark horse. He has climbed the moneyline list this week, thanks to his seven top-ten finishes in his last nine tournaments, as his golf has improved. He has never missed a cut att he Honda Classic and has two top-ten finishes, including a runner-up result three years ago. Despite his hissy fit from a few weeks ago, his game is in a strong place right now.