The PGA Tour’s Florida Swing wraps up with this week’s Honda Classic at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Sungjae Im is back to defend his 2020 title. Below, we look at the fantasy golf power rankings and odds for the 2021 Honda Classic, with PGA Tour picks and predictions.
The event features a rather lackluster field following Justin Thomas’ victory at the Players Championship. The WGC-Match Play runs next week in Austin, Texas, and the 2021 Masters Tournament is just three weeks away.
Daniel Berger is the top golfer in attendance at No. 9 in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings. He lives in the West Palm Beach area and is this week’s betting favorite
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Odds last updated Tuesday at 1:10 a.m. ET.
Fantasy golf rankings
30. Wyndham Clark (+5000)
Tied for 11th in this event last year while gaining 1.15 strokes per round with the putter. He was seventh in 2019 while ranking second in the field in SG: Putting and has a clear penchant for these greens, but the putter has been a weakness this season.
29. Denny McCarthy (+12500)
Missed the cut in each of his three appearances in this event to date. He has performed well on the greens at this venue and was above average on approach last week at TPC Sawgrass.
28. Will Gordon (+10000)
Debuts at PGA National on a streak of three straight made cuts. He had a T-3 finish at last year’s Travelers Championship against a considerably stronger field.
27. Nick Taylor (+10000)
The two-time PGA Tour winner tied for 48th in the strong field last week. He also safely made the cut at comparable courses in both The Genesis Invitational and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
26. Adam Hadwin (+6600)
Rebounded from a missed cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational to tie for 29th in a stronger field last week. His short game has been very sharp, but he’s regularly losing strokes on approach.
25. Brandon Wu (+5000)
The winner of the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour Championship will play just his second PGA Tour event of 2021. He tied for seventh in the Puerto Rico Open but will be facing a more top-heavy field this week.
24. Brendan Steele (+4500)
Has made seven straight cuts to begin 2021 but missed the cut in seven of 20 events last year. He tied for fourth at last year’s Honda Classic with 2.24 SG: Tee-to-Green per round.
23. Shane Lowry (+2800)
The reigning Open Champion had a surprising eighth-place finish last week and ranked fifth among those who made the cut in SG: Around-the-Green. He averaged 0.75 SG: Around-the-Green in a T-21 finish last year.
22. Harold Varner III (+8000)
Made the cut each of the last four years in this event and had a career-best T-42 finish in 2020. Putting has been a weakness for him at PGA National, but it has been slightly improved this year.
21. Michael Thompson (+8000)
The 2013 champion returned to the PGA Tour winner’s circle last summer at the 3M Open and tied for fifth at this year’s American Express. The renewed confidence should get him back in contention.
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20. Richy Werenski (+9000)
Tied for fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational but missed the cut last week while losing 2.02 strokes per round on the greens. He won last year’s Barracuda Championship in a field not much weaker than this.
19. Martin Kaymer (+6600)
The former No. 1 golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking needs a victory for an invitation to the 2021 Masters. He’ll play his first non-major PGA Tour event since the Barracuda Championship, but he has four top-10 finishes in his last 10 European Tour events.
18. J.T. Poston (+6600)
Averaging 0.93 SG: Putting per round through 39 measured rounds this season but is losing strokes in every other key area. He has played this event three times without a missed cut.
17. Matthew NeSmith (+8000)
One of the best players in last year’s field in both SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Approach, but lost 0.73 strokes with the flat stick per round en route to a T-38 finish. He played well at both the The Genesis Invitational and Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
16. Mackenzie Hughes (+6600)
Last year’s runner-up excelled on and around the greens. He was playing well late last summer and into the fall but has missed the cut in two of six events to begin 2021.
15. Kevin Streelman (+6600)
Finished 13th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for his best result of 2021. He missed the cut last week with poor play on and around the greens, but those are generally neutral areas of his game, and he can rely on his irons here.
14. Doug Ghim (+5000)
Ghim played extremely well through 54 holes each of the last two weeks, but he fell apart in the final round of both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship. The experience and a weaker field should play in his favor this week.
13. Lee Westwood (+2000)
The 47-year-old has flown up the world rankings with back-to-back runner-up finishes. He has played well at PGA National over his career with 1.97 strokes gained on the field per round, but it’s tough to tell how motivated he’ll be for a lesser event with the Masters in sight.
12. Byeong Hun An (+6600)
Third in this field with 2.14 strokes gained on the field per round over 12 career rounds at PGA National. He has two top-5 finishes here in the last three years but the putter is still a glaring weakness.
11. Alex Noren (+6600)
Finished alone in third in 2018 but missed the cut in 2019 with polar opposite putting performances. The putter has been a strength this season except for last week.
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10. Keegan Bradley (+4000)
Three missed cuts in his last four appearances at this event but should be able to contend against a weak field. He lost strokes off the tee in a T-29 finish last week but that area of his game won’t be tested as much at this venue.
9. Talor Gooch (+4000)
Tied for fifth last week with strokes lost off the tee but with 1.69 SG: Approach per round. He’ll make his fourth straight appearance at this event with a top finish of T-20 in 2019.
8. Chris Kirk (+4000)
Struggled with the putter last week but was otherwise strong in a T-48 finish against much stiffer competition. Missed the cut in each of his last two appearances at PGA National but is in top form early this year with two top-10 finishes in six events.
7. Cameron Tringale (+3500)
Thirteenth in this field with 34 career rounds played at PGA National. He enters the week at No. 22 in the Golfweek rankings and is one of the top players in attendance by that measure.
6. Adam Scott (+2500)
The 2016 champion didn’t play here last year following a missed cut in 2019. He’s another veteran who’s a risk this week with higher-profile events on the upcoming schedule.
5. Cameron Davis (+5000)
Tied for eighth last year despite gaining just 0.01 strokes per round with the putter. He finished third in a field stronger than this at The American Express in late January.
4. Russell Henley (+2800)
The 2014 champion of PGA National tied for eighth last year in his best finish since the victory. He’s gaining 0.96 strokes per round on approach this season, but he struggled with the irons last week.
3. Joaquin Niemann (+1800)
Tied for 29th last week with a better-than-usual putting performance. He’ll make just his third appearance in this event off a missed cut last year, but his game figures to translate well with an emphasis on iron play.
2. Sungjae Im (+1200)
The defending champ will be facing a slightly weaker field this year. He proved his worth for his first PGA Tour win with a final round of 66 to match the best score of the day.
1. Daniel Berger (+1000)
Returns to PGA National off a T-4 finish last year and with two PGA Tour victories since. He tied for ninth last week with 2.31 SG: Tee-to-Green per round.
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