The PGA Tour continues on this week as it visits the Champion Course at PGA National Resort for the 2023 The Honda Classic. The Tom and George Faizo design will play as a Par 70, 7,125 yard layout this week. Pierceson Coody, a former number one ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, will be making his long-awaited PGA Tour debut this week. Last year’s edition was won by Sepp Straka, who came from five strokes behind in the final round to defeat Shane Lowry by one stroke and become the first player from Austria to win on the PGA Tour.
Player to Fade:
With a few missed cuts in a row, I don’t see this being the course where Aaron Wise starts lighting it up. Tee-to-Green, he seems to be stable, but that isn’t where you score, and for him, I just don’t feel he has it in him coming off previous performances. I think mentally he is in a low.
Dark Horse:
With 3 missed cuts to start the season, Lee Hodges is warming up. His game started to shape up at the Genesis and we saw some great moves in the right direction. His ball striking is solid and with his performance at the Genesis, he just might have it in him to keep climbing.
Top 10:
Shane Lowry played well last year and should have had the Honda title. He has made a good showing since winning the BMW PGA Championship and I have confidence he will perform here. He just has to find his groove and settle in to the course. He is more than capable of being a top-10 contender.
Winner:
This season, we have seen some great play from Sungjae Im, with a couple top-10’s in the last few events. He plays well on this course and it is set up for his strengths. His putting has been on and if he can drop a few, he will be at the top of the leaderboard.