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Jon Rahm reclaimed his title of #1 player in the world by winning the Genesis Invitational last week. It was a fun week at Riviera, but now the PGA Tour starts its annual Florida Swing.
The 2023 Honda Classic will tee off on Thursday, February 23. Though some of the bigger names like Rahm, McIlroy, and Scheffler will not be in the field, PGA National always seems to make things interesting.
Sungjae Im, who won the Honda back in 2020, is the current favorite to win this year's title. BetRivers currently lists Im at +650. Check out the 8 bets we're making for the 2023 Honda Classic.
H2H Matchup: Billy Horschel OVER Denny McCarthy (+100 DraftKings)
Billy was off to a strong start this season when he finished 7th in the CJ Cup and 10th at the QBE Shootout. However, he has missed 2 of his last 3 cuts. That said, he is entering this Honda Classic, having finished 16th last season and 16th back in 2019, prior to a 42nd finish in 2020.
He is facing Denny McCarthy in this matchup, who has missed the cut here in 2 of his last 4 starts. He did bounce back last week to finish 14th after missing the cut at the Phoenix Open. We believe here Billy will do enough to top Denny.
H2H Matchup: Chris Kirk OVER Matt Kuchar (-110 DraftKings)
After missing the cut in 2019 and 2020, Kirk finished 25th and then 7th last year. He had finished 3rd in back-to-back events this season at the Sony and American Express. However, he fell short of making the cut at the Phoenix Open before taking last week off.
Matt Kuchar has obviously been around for a long time. In fact, he won this event over 20 years ago, in 2002. That said, he has not participated in the last couple of seasons. He will need to really knock the rust off to contend with Kirk this weekend.
H2H Matchup: Sepp Straka OVER Adam Schenk (-120 DraftKings)
Schenk finished 30th in 2020 here, then 36th in 2021, but failed to make the cut last year. He has been on a downward trajectory here over the years. He has missed 4 cuts already this season but is coming off a 50th-place finish last week at the Genesis Invitational.
Sepp was our champion here last year and has been completely opposite of Schenk. After missing the cut in 2019, he gradually finished better up to last year. He has made 4 straight cuts and been tremendous in and around the green.
H2H Matchup: Shane Lowry OVER Aaron Wise (-102 FanDuel)
Lowry has finished inside the top 40 in 3 straight starts here at the Honda Classic. Last year, he couldn’t better Sepp and finished 2nd overall. He missed the cut in Phoenix but bounced back nicely last week with a 14th-place finish at the Genesis.
Wise missed the cut here last year and has missed the cut in his last 2 starts this season. He took last week off, but until we see him playing consistently again, we are happy to fade him against players like Lowry.
Mark Hubbard loves the Honda Classic. He finished 46th, 11th, and most recently, 15th last season. His recent form hasn’t been great, as he has missed back-to-back cuts.
However, he has the ability to finish in contention here, so to take him a 1.5 to 1 to make the top 40 is well worth the play.
Being 37th on strokes gained on approaches to the green and 39th in strokes gained putting has served Sepp well and was certainly the case last year when he walked away the champion at the Honda.
To get him at almost even money to finish inside the top 40 here seems like it's too good to be true. While it may be, we are going to take our chances on him here.
Top 40 Finish: Brian Stuard (+650 FanDuel)
Much like Hubbard, Stuard has had a rough start to the 2022-2023 season. He has missed the cut in 3 of his last 5 events, and outside of a 12th-place finish at the Fortinet, he hasn’t finished better than 54th this season.
All that said, his results at the Honda have historically been solid. He grabbed a 20th-place finish in 2019, and last year had his best finish with a top 10 (9th place).
Top 20 Finish: Shane Lowry (+100 BetRivers)
Taking out the missed cut Lowry had at Phoenix, you have a guy that has finishes of 23rd, 18th, and 14th this season. His strokes gained off the tee, and approaches have him in a position to seek top-20 finishes week in and week out.
He will be playing with a chip on his shoulder after finishing just short last year. This even-money number on Lowry is too good to pass up!
Bill Christy is a seasoned bettor who operates his own handicapping business. He provides in-depth analysis and identifies edges across several sports at EatWatchBet, including the NFL, NBA, CBB, and UFC. Follow Bill on Twitter at @LarrysLocks2
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21+ to wager. Please Gamble Responsibly. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS, NV), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI). Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (CO, DC, IL, IN, LA, MD, MS, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY). Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY) Call 1-800-327-5050 (MA).
