With March looming, the PGA TOUR has traveled across the country to start the Florida Swing. After some marquee tournaments in Phoenix and Los Angeles, we get a bit of a breather to start things out in the Sunshine State with The Honda Classic. With a pair of elevated events on both sides of it, the field is filled with mostly fringe TOUR players looking for their big break, making handicapping Honda Classic odds more difficult.
Still, PGA National is one of the more entertaining venues on Tour, and it’s a shame it doesn’t get bigger names walking through the infamous Bear Trap to end their rounds. As one of the hardest courses on the schedule, we can usually expect some great entertainment as players try to hang on in the final round.
Tournament Recap Through First Three Rounds
For as unpredictable as The Honda Classic may seem at times, it often still gives us some of the biggest names in attendance at the top of the leaderboard heading into the final round. Last year was the perfect encapsulation of that. Daniel Berger, one of the biggest favorites heading in, held a five-stroke lead through 54 holes. He shot a 74 on Sunday and lost by three.
That could be a preview of what’s to come this year. While early favorites like Matt Kuchar (MC), Thomas Detry (WD) and Sungjae Im (T39) won’t be in contention, we still see Chris KirK, Shane Lowry and defending champion Sepp Straka in it for the final round.
Kirk holds a two-shot lead and made a ton of sense coming into the week. He finished seventh here at PGA National last year and finished third at both The American Express and the Sony Open coming in. Kirk now sits as the heavy favorite around even odds. He’s gotten it done with a balanced attack, sitting no worse than 23rd in any Strokes Gained category for the week.
While I can find no argument against Kirk being the man to beat, I can’t think of a single course on Tour I’d be less compelled to bet the leader at even odds than PGA National. There are simply far too many spots to make a big number, and Kirk doesn’t have best history when he’s in contention. He’s certainly the man to beat on Sunday, but you’re much better off looking down the board for some value.
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Final Round PGA TOUR Golf Bets To Consider
Winner: Byeong Hun An
Best Odds Still Available:
Just like last week when we had a real run at in on Sunday with Patrick Cantlay’s huge final-round odds, I’m looking down the board to find a winner at The Honda Classic. Byeong Hun An will start five shots back, the same number that Straka overcame a year ago for his maiden title.
An is my choice here for a few reasons. Number one, this is a really strong number for a deficit that just isn’t very large at a course like PGA National. An will only need to pass five players on Sunday, and he’s been the best player in the field since a mediocre opening-round 70.
As an elite ball striker when in form, An seems like the most capable of posting a very low round even if conditions are tough on Sunday. He’s fifth in the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, and we saw his capabilities in action on Friday when he posted a 65 and gained an impressive 4.3 strokes on approach.
An was once one of the brighter young talents on Tour before he found a brutal rough stretch and lost his card. He seems back in form now, and he has plenty to look back on PGA National with finishes of fourth and fifth at The Honda Classic in recent years. Take this number and root for some carnage on Sunday at The Bear Trap.
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Top-Five Finish: Ben Taylor
Best Odds Still Available: +150
Englishman Ben Taylor was one of my favorite picks to start the week, and he’s been high on the leaderboard since early on Thursday morning when he was the leader through most of his round. Taylor has been impressive at times since he got back on the PGA Tour via the Korn Ferry Tour last year. He finished 3rd at the Houston Open and 4th at the Sony Open to put him in a good place to retain that card.
The key note on both of those finishes is they were on Bermuda greens. Taylor has been a very strong putter on Bermuda throughout his career, and he’s keeping that up this week by sitting first in Strokes Gained: Putting through three rounds. He’s been stellar in every category except SG: Off the Tee this week. If he can keep it decently straight off the tee Sunday, I like these odds for him to hold his position on the leaderboard in a tie for fourth currently.
One thing I love about Taylor here is he plays a fairly reserved style of golf, finding centers of greens when he’s going well. Avoiding the big number should be enough to keep him in contention on Sunday.
Top-10 Finish: Davis Riley
Best Odds Still Available: +320
It’s a welcome sight to see Davis Riley finally playing some solid golf this week after a very rough stretch to start his year. Riley was one of the brightest rookies on Tour last season in the spring into summer before losing his touch a bit to end the year. We know about his volatile ball striking, but it’s been the putter especially holding him back.
Though it hasn’t done much for him this week, Riley’s putter is best on Bermuda, so there is the chance he gets it going int he final round. Regardless, Riley is getting more than enough from his ball striking to log a strong finish on Sunday. He sits seventh in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and eighth in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.
Riley is just two shots back currently of the top 10, and he possesses more than enough talent to post another good score and log his first top 10 of the season.
The Honda Classic Odds
Click on any of the odds below to bet now and compare across sportsbooks in your state to ensure you are maximizing your potential profits before the final round on Sunday. Best of luck betting Honda Classic odds.
