The PGA Tour says hello to the Sunshine State with the first of four straight tournaments in Florida, kicking off this week with the Honda Classic in Palm Beach. A change to the tournament schedule has impacted this event and a number of big names won’t be participating. Don’t worry, though, there is still plenty of firepower ready to peg it up on the 7,110-yard, par-70 PGA National Champion Course. Fresh off a final-round 62 at last week’s WGC that vaulted him into a top-10, Justin Thomas is back to defend his title and opened as the betting favorite at BookMaker.eu with odds of +495. Below is a list of matchup odds available at BookMaker.eu.
Honda Classic Matchup Odds at BookMaker.eu
Patton Kizzire +110 vs. Harold Varner III -130
Sung Kang -130 vs, Brian Harman +110
Joel Dahmen -135 vs. Kelly Kraft +105
Trey Mullinax +100 vs. Bud Cauley -120
C.T. Pan -110 vs. Jim Furyk -110
Vaughn Taylor -110 vs. Johnson Wagner -120
Matt Wallace -130 vs. Charl Schwartzel +110
Luke List -130 vs. Byeong Hun An +110
Martin Trainer +100 vs. Danny Lee -130
Zach Johnson -125 vs. Kiradech Aphibarnrat +105
Emiliano Grillo -110 vs. Billy Horschel -110
Scott Langley +105 vs. Stewart Cink -135
Adam Scott +110 vs. Gary Woodland -130
Sergio Garcia -135 vs. Adam Scott +115
Graeme McDowell +105 vs. Russell Henley -125
Sergio Garcia -105 vs. Gary Woodland -115
Rickie Fowler -110 vs. Brooks Koepka -110
Jhonattan Vegas +105 vs. Kevin Tway -135
Scott Piercy +105 vs. Jason Kokrak -125
Alex Noren -115 vs. Russell Knox -105
Patrick Rodgers -135 vs. Sam Burns +105
Nick Taylor -120 vs. Brian Stuard -110
Adam Schenk -135 vs. Anirban Lahiri +105
Sung-Jae Im -120 vs. Dylan Frittelli +100
Brendan Steele -120 vs. Wyndham Clark -110
Curtis Luck -105 vs. Jason Dufner -125
Joaquin Niemann -110 vs. Nick Watney -120
Kevin Streelman -120 vs. Ollie Schniederjans -110
Denny McCarthy -135 vs. Harris English +105
J.T. Poston -115 vs. Ryan Palmer -105
Brandon Harkins -125 vs. Cameron Davis -105
Webb Simpson -170 vs. Daniel Berger +150
Cameron Smith -115 vs. Daniel Berger -105
Webb Simpson -135 vs. Cameron Smith +115
Austin Cook -110 vs. Jimmy Walker -120
Sam Saunders -110 vs. Andrew Landry -120
Martin Kaymer -115 vs. Chris Kirk -105
Justin Thomas -165 vs. Rickie Fowler +145
Roger Sloan +105 vs. Scott Brown -135
Lucas Bjerregaard -135 vs. Peter Uihlein +105
Lucas Glover -120 vs. Michael Thompson -110
Need To Know
There have been complaints from the pros in the past saying PGA National is too tough. A glance at some of the scores will confirm that. In the 12 years the tournament has been staged here, the winner reached double-digits under par just three times. It’s happened only once in the last five years with Rickie Fowler going -12 in 2017. It’s not a threatening layout in terms of distance stretching out to over 7,100 yards. Water is everywhere in Florida and it certainly surrounds this course with hazards at 13 holes. And if the water doesn’t get you the sand has a chance on this heavily-bunkered layout. The course plays to irons, woods and a conservative game plan. And the infamous three-hole stretch at 15, 16 and 17 known as the Bear Trap will leave players sweating to the very end.
Honda Classic Matchup Picks
Rickie Fowler +145 vs. Justin Thomas
There isn’t much value with their low numbers on the individual odds board, so why not take a look at Fowler in this matchup. It’ll also be fun to watch the top two in the field battle it out and there’s a good chance they are in the final pairing on Sunday. Thomas has played a lot of golf over the last few weeks and that can wear down a player. Just ask Tiger Woods about that. And JT’s form here has been perplexing. He missed the cut in 2015 and 2017 and this being an odd year, hmmm. Even if JT makes it to the weekend I’m leaning toward Fowler, who used last week as a warm up for his homecoming.
Cameron Smith -115 vs. Daniel Berger -105
Smith is no longer an up-and-comer because he has arrived. He’s been a model of consistency not missing a cut since the U.S. Open last June, and since the FedEx Cup Playoffs began in 2018, Smith has 14 starts finishing 22nd or better in 11 of them. Smith won the Australian Open in December and hasn’t slowed down with three top-15s in his last four starts. He scored under par in all four rounds last week at the WGC, vaulting into the top 25 in the world rankings. Not only will Smith win this matchup, he’s a likely contender for the title.
Gary Woodland -115 vs. Sergio Garcia
Garcia will always be remembered for his bunker tantrum at the Saudi International, a moment immortalized by current technological advances. Because of that I’m going to fade him in this matchup and lean on Woodland because he’s been on fire. His six top-10s this year are most on the PGA Tour and he’s third in FedEx Cup points standings without even winning a tournament. Woodland has done nearly everything so far this season except win.
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker.eu. The Honda Classic is scheduled for February 28-March 3 and can be seen on Golf Channel and NBC.
