Honda Classic Predictions & Odds
In one of the more wide open fields that you’ll see all season, the PGA Tour heads to Palm Beach Gardens, FL and the PGA National Members Club for the 2023 Honda Classic this weekend.
Which players do we see possibly pulling off big upsets this weekend?
Tournament Details
Date: February 23-26, 2023
Course: PGA National Members Club
TV: Golf Network, NBC
Purse: $8,400,000
Defending Champion: Sepp Straka
2023 Honda Classic Betting Odds
Sungjae Im is the current favorite to win the 2023 Honda Classic at +1000, followed by Shane Lowry at +1600 and Aaron Wise at +2200. Billy Horschel and Alex Noren are both +2500, respectively, followed by Min Woo Lee and Denny McCarthy at +2800, respectively. Matt Kuchar, Chris Kirk and Adam Svensson are all +3000, respectively.
2023 Honda Classic Predictions
OPTION 1: Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+5500)
Straka won this event a year ago at 125/1. Matt Jones won here in 2021 at 80/1. Keith Mitchell won in 2019 at 250/1. (I’ll get to the 2020 winner below.) See a pattern? With seemingly inescapable water hazards and, at times, brutal winds, this is the weekend where you circle your favorite long shot and let the chips fall where they may. Bezuidenhout was the Sunshine Tour’s Rookie of the Year in 2017 and was the Sunshine Tour’s Order of Merit Winner for the 2020-21 season. Those achievements may or may not apply to this weekend but in a wide open field, I’d rather roll the dice with someone who has a couple of tournament victories to his name than basically an unknown. He also has the short game to navigate this tournament, stay out of trouble and be in the mix come Sunday.
OPTION 2: Sungjae Im (+1000)
Why even both listing the favorite? Because this weekend’s event is so devoid of top-level players that it makes sense to hedge a little if you’re going to back a couple of long shots. The only players ranked in the top-20 that will play the Honda this weekend is Im at No. 18, Billy Horschel at No. 19 and Shane Lowry at No. 20. That’s it, and that’s why I took two longshots and a favorite, who just so happened to win this same event in 2020.
OPTION 3: Adam Schenk (+9000)
Again, this is the weekend to throw caution to the wind and see if you can’t score big with a major longshot. You could look at Schenk one of two ways. On one hand, he’s never finished better than tied for 29th at the Honda Classic. On the other, he has two top-30 finishes and three top-40s when he’s made the cut. He’s also made the cut in each of his last four starts this season, as well as in three of his five starts at the Honda. Maybe this is the weekend he puts it all together.