It’s that time again when the PGA Tour takes a little break from high-profile events and turns the show over to those players looking to make their mark with a victory.
Welcome to the 2021 Honda Classic which will be played at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
The event, which features just seven of the world’s top 50 players, is an ideal spot for those up-and-coming players to earn that first PGA Tour win.
Don’t believe us? Just check out the last two winners. Sungjae Im is the defending champ as he won his first–and only, so far–PGA Tour title. The previous year, Keith Mitchell won–also his only Tour title.
Will that trend continue? We’re betting that it won’t.
Odds To Win The Honda Classic
| BetMGM | Odds |
|---|---|
| Daniel Berger | +1000 |
| Sungjae Im | +1200 |
| Joaquin Niemann | +1800 |
| Lee Westwood | +2000 |
| Adam Scott | +2500 |
| Russell Henley | +2800 |
| Shane Lowry | +3500 |
| Cameron Tringale | +4000 |
| Keegan Bradley | +4000 |
| Chris Kirk | +4000 |
| Rickie Fowler | +4000 |
It’s Time To Break The Pattern
Okay, maybe back-to-back wins by first-timers isn’t a pattern, per se. There have been big-name winners like Justin Thomas, three years ago. But lately this event has been that life-changing victory for at least the last two winners.
And that’s what makes this week’s event so intriguing from a betting standpoint. We’ve got a few big-names dotting the playing field and with that number being limited one would think picking a winner might be a no-brainer.
Yeah, yeah…we know, we fit right in when it comes to the no-brainer statement.
But what this week’s event does show is the PGA Tour’s slogan– These Guys Are Good–extends far down the list when it comes to odds.
We’re going to go with a guy who has won here along with two who certainly know their way around this track.
Put Adam Scott On Your Radar
So we’re not going to start with a player who is not looking for his first PGA Tour win. In fact, we’re looking at a player, Adam Scott at +2500 at BetMGM, who definitely knows how to win and knows his way around this course. He’s been up and down in the 2020-2021 wraparound season with a victory at the 2020 Genesis Invitational but since the calendar turned to 2021 he’s been middle of the pack.
And that run of streaky play continues at this event. It’s either feast or famine. He won here in 2016. He followed that up with a T-14 in 2017 and a T-13 in 2018. Then came the famine portion as he missed the cut in 2019 and didn’t tee it up at the 2020 event.
Four Consistent Rounds Will Be The Key
So, which Scott will we see this week? Well, we’re betting on the one who, we hope, puts together four great rounds and wraps up his 15th career PGA Tour title.
That confidence we have in him comes because he has put four impressive rounds together recently as the 2020 Genesis Invitational victory shows so he’s not that far removed from hoisting a trophy.
When You’re Hot, You’re Hot
While we like Scott to win, we’re also not betting against the guy who is red-hot right now–Lee Westwood at +2000.
All he’s done the last two weeks is be in the final group on Sunday and given himself a chance. While he didn’t close the deal either week, just being back in the hunt has Westwood, and his fiancée/caddie, all smiles working their way around the courses.
Westwood has only two PGA Tour wins, the last coming at the 2010 St. Jude Classic, but right now he’s tough to bet against…so we won’t.
After all, he’s got 42 international wins so one more in the U.S. shouldn’t be a shock. The only question might be fatigue but with back-to-back runner-up finishes we’re betting he’s still got one more week of great play left in the tank.
We’re also going to look at hometown guy Daniel Berger at +1000. He’s the highest-ranking player in the field at No. 15 and has a win at Pebble Beach earlier in 2021. Add in the fact he played a lot of his junior golf rounds right here and this might be the ideal spot for him to pick up that next victory right here in his backyard.
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