The West Coast swing of the PGA Tour is done for this year which means it’s off to Florida for the world’s best golfers.
First up is the Honda Classic at the PGA National Resort Champions course. It’s another good field this week that will be fighting for the $1,444,000 first place check!
It’s a tough track for the pros, as evidenced by last year’s winner Matt Jones. Jones opened the tournament with an unheard of 61 over the course. He finished with 70-69-68 – pedestrian rounds compared to the 61 but still finished five shots ahead of second.
The highlight of this event is the “Bear Trap,” the three-hole stretch is one of the toughest on the regular PGA Tour, ranking fourth overall with the players scoring 0.644 over par.
The 15th is a 179 yard, par 3 that has water short and right, and a bunker eating up anything long. Land in the bunker and face a delicate sand shot back towards the water.
The 16th is a par 4 that is 434 yards long. Not the most intimidating length, but factor in that the fairway is so narrow that players often choose an iron off the tee.
Finally, No. 17 is a 175-yard, par 3 with water short and right.
Both of the par 3’s are basically island greens and we’ve seen the problems they cause for the pros.
My fantasy league challenge this week is to pick three players and the most combined money won takes the cake. It’s a decent field so I have decided to roll the dice with some players that might not show up on a lot of picks, but probably should.
I always must have a top gun, so Brooks Koepka gets a spot. Koepka made a surprise early exit last week in Los Angeles, so we are looking for a big bounce back.
Next, we go to Billy Horschel. In four starts at the event, he has always been in the top 25. In addition, he has not missed a cut since last summer at the U.S. Open.
We end our roster with Keith Mitchell. Who? He won the tournament in 2019 and has playing solid week in and out. He has successfully negotiated the nuances of the course before.
By Dennis Miller