Player Picks for The Honda Classic
The PGA Tour migrates southeast to Florida this week and the first stop is The Honda Classic played on PGA National’s Champion Course. This course is very demanding for these tour pros and will be one of their toughest challenges the entire year.
Starting at hole eleven the course becomes more difficult, and little room for error through eighteen. Before getting to eighteen though each player must pass through the “Bear Trap”, the nickname coined for legendary golfer and course redesigner Jack Nicholas when describing holes 15, 16, & 17.
Raised greens, prevailing winds, doglegs, and shots over water are a few of the ever present conditions each player must deal with in their own way. This week it’s all about greens in regulation and keeping the ball in play. Although early weather reports are very favorable and predicted conditions calm so maybe past demands on accuracy will not be as highly coveted this week.
Generating solid player picks each week has proven downright challenging. For the first time in 18 years the west cost swing did not have Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson winning a tournament; the end of an era folks.
Young guns are finding success and one of their seniors, Hunter Mahan, pulled off a beauty on Sunday to win the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
The international players are stronger than even and early leader Camilo Villegas proved he is for real. Match play winner Ian Poulter showed some gritty composure by climbing his way back in the tournament in Phoenix on Sunday.
So yes, they are coming from anywhere and everywhere, but make picks I will. This week there are ten players I’m looking at. Narrowing it down to ten was very difficult, and here they are in no particular order.
Tim Clark – Tim did not play last week and I feel he is a top favorite this week.
J.B. Holmes – J.B. has what it takes to find success here. If his putter gets hot look out.
Brandt Snedeker – Although Brandt made history last Sunday with one of the greatest falls from the top spot ever recorded, I think he is quite capale of putting it behind him.
Camilo Villegas – Camilo has found a groove and I plan to ride ‘em till he bucks me off.
Alex Prugh – If Alex would have played last week as an alternate he was on my list.
Tom Gillis – Who? Just another Nationwide top player easing his way into the PGA spotlight.
Robert Allenby – Allenby is a player that should have been on this list every week..
D.J. Trahan – D.J. returns to the familiar south with a solid game in hand.
Paul Casey – Why didn’t Casey play last week in his own college town? Because he wants The Honda Classic is why. I predict Casey finds the top ten this week.
Well there you have it, my top ten for this week. Narrowing that list to five for our format here is off limits for me. Ten is difficult and five becoming more impossible with each passing week. All I can say to the fantasy golf entrants this week is:
Good Luck!
The Commissioner
Man O’Golf
