It’s time for our 4th and final leg of the Florida swing, The Honda Classic at PGA National in Palm Beach Fl. This course has been the home of the Honda since 2007 and is once again a Bermudagrass putting surface. PGA National is another Jack Nicklaus design and arguably his most famous track. The players recently saw a Jack design at The Concession Golf Club for the WGC. Many holes will have striking similarities to the Concession, including the double dogleg on the Par 5 18th. Be sure to tap into all this recent and long-term history we have to put together your most formidable roster for your Honda Classic DraftKings golf lineup.
The course is set up as a par 70 with both par 5’s reachable in two. Players will find success if they go even on the par 3’s and birdie the par 5’s. Over the recent years, par 4 scoring has led to more top finishes, helping players reach that crucial -12 number. The course is not overly long but has many hazards forcing players to go shorter than driver off the tee. The fairways narrow to well-protected greens making this a second-shot golf course. Your past 5 winners have been Sungjae Im (20’), Keith Mitchell (19’), Justin Thomas (18’), Rickie Fowler (17’), and Adam Scott (16’). Our key stats for this week are strokes gained approach (SG:APP), strokes gained putting (SG:P), good drives gained, par 4 scoring, and scrambling.
2021 Honda Classic DraftKings Golf Picks
Daniel Berger -$10,800
Daniel Berger is an elite golfer, there I said it. Someone had to. In fact, I will go as far as to say he is the only elite golfer in this field and must be on your rosters. He was 9th last week at The Players, playing extremely efficiently with every club in his bag gaining over 9 strokes T2G. While many of the other top players struggled to deal with the wind, it didn’t seem to affect Berger. He will need that kind of effort again this week with the wind he will be facing at PGA National.
Talor Gooch – $9,300
Taylor Gooch has been playing some excellent golf as of late. He had a great finish at the Players Championship taking 5th place, and 12th at the Genesis. PGA National is a second shot course. App has had twice the impact on the winner compared to any other stat and Taylor Gooch shoots darts. He gained 6.8 strokes app on the field last week. If he continues his quality iron play, Gooch will have himself another high finish this weekend and anchor your Honda Classic lineup over at DraftKings.
Harold Varner III – $7,600
In his two events of the Florida swing, HV3 went 21st at the Arnold and 61st last week at the Players. In all, though he has been struggling to find that form he finished last season in. With that being said, he is still gaining strokes on the field OTT, APP, and ARG over his last 10 rounds. HV3 is typically recognized as a superior ball striker and that will come in handy for this second shot golf course. This will be his 6th straight appearance at the Honda, only missing the cut in 2016, and posting his highest finish of 41st last season. In this weak field, Harold can easily climb up the leaderboard and carry your DraftKings lineup for the Honda Classic.
Lee Kyoung -Hoon $7,500
Similar to Vegas, Lee did not play his best golf this past weekend at the Players Championship finishing in 41st place. On the bright side of his performance is, Lee did gain 2.2 strokes app on the field last week. On top of his recent iron play, he gained 4.6 strokes OTT. Lee comes into this week with some solid course history. He placed 38th last year and 7th in 2019. If Lee can limit the errors ARG and continues striking the ball well, no one reason he can not have a top twenty finish this week.
Jhonattan Vegas -$7,300
Jhonny Vegas is our course history play of the week. After taking 2nd at the Puerto Rico Open, Vegas struggled last week finishing in 61st place. The good news Vegas is very comfortable at PGA National. He has great course history here, making every cut since 2017. At $7,300 Vegas is a quality low-end play for your lineups this week.
Patrick Rodgers – $7,000
Rodgers is coming off 4 straight cuts made (Players, Arnold, Puerto Rico, and Genesis). He’s typically known for being a great putter, but what’s been helping him lately is his added distance OTT. He ranks 30th in the field in GIRs, the recipe for success this week. He is making his 7th appearance at the Honda, making the cut the last 3 seasons and finishing in the top-30 each time. If you’re going stars and scrubs this week Patrick is a nice piece to round out your Honda Classic DraftKings lineups.
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