Highlights: The Honda Classic Round 1 & 2 Recap
After an eventful West Coast swing which saw numerous fantastic finishes, the PGA Tour has moved to Florida ahead of what are some of the most iconic tournaments of the year. Here our Honda Classic Round 1 & 2 Recap
As is customary, the Florida swing starts with the Honda Classic held at the famous PGA National, the tournament is renowned for the ‘Bear trap’ a tough three hole finishing stretch designed by the Golden Bear himself, Jack Nicklaus.
Some of the best in the game have decided to give themselves this week off, so this year’s Honda Classic provides a chance for some of the game’s lesser lights to bag one of the most historic championships on the PGA Tour.
Justin Suh leads at halfway stage, Chris Kirk almost shoots course record
Tour rookie Justin Suh will head into the weekend with his first ever PGA Tour lead after 36 holes. After a strong first round where Suh found himself just behind the leaders, he made his move yesterday carding an impressive 64 to lead the tournament by one.
Despite being ranked at 117 in the world, Suh is certainly no slouch and earnt his PGA Tour card after topping last year’s Korn Ferry Points list. Many believe Suh has a game that is good enough to win majors and he will be hoping he can launch his PGA career in spectacular style this weekend.
Starting the day one behind Suh is Chris Kirk. After a solid opening round which saw the American post a one under par 69, Kirk took advantage of some of the better weather conditions yesterday and blitzed his way to a second round 62.
The world number 47 headed into the week as one of the highest ranked players in the field, and showed all of his class as he recorded an eagle and six birdies over his eighteen holes yesterday. A missed opportunity at the last hole saw him unable to tie the course record, but Kirk could be the hot hand heading into the weekend.
First round leader Joseph Bramlett had a nightmare day yesterday with the American recording successive double bogeys to slip down the leaderboard. He will start today eight strokes off the pace.
Round 3 Betting Preview
With fifteen players starting the day within five strokes of the lead, this year’s Honda Classic is still very much up for grabs.
As the narrow leader of the tournament, it isn’t a surprise to see that Justin Suh is the slim favorite for victory. Despite his tour status being new, Suh certainly knows how to win and he dominated the Korn Ferry Tour last year. Suh joined Scottie Scheffler and Chesson Hadley as the only men to top both Korn Ferry exemption lists. He has the pedigree and ability to win this weekend and it will be fascinating to see how he handles the pressure.
Chris Kirk will head into today’s third round confident of cementing his position at the top of the leaderboard. Kirk is a tour veteran having turned professional all the way back in 2007. A solid career has followed, with the American winning four times on Tour. It’s been over seven years since he last tasted success and he will be hopeful of ending that barren run here.
Englishman Ben Taylor rounds out the top three in the betting and he will start today just two strokes behind Suh. Taylor is a name unknown by most, but he is a player that is getting more and more comfortable at this level. Taylor has played 50 PGA events and has recorded two top ten finishes, he will be hopeful of a career high position by the end of Sunday.
2023 Honda Classic Odds courtesy of JazzSports
| GOLFER | ODDS |
| JUSTIN SUH | +330 |
| CHRIS KIRK | +350 |
| BEN TAYLOR | +1100 |
| ERIC COLE | +1600 |
| BEN MARTIN | +1800 |
| SHANE LOWRY | +2000 |
| RYAN GERARD | +2500 |
| BYEONG HUN AN | +2800 |
| ADAM SVENNSSON | +3300 |
| BRICE GARNETT | +3300 |
| TYLER DUNCAN | +3300 |
| ADAM SCHENK | +4000 |
| ADRIAN MERONK | +4000 |
| SUNGJAE IM | +4000 |
| TANO GOYA | +4000 |
| CHESSON HADLEY | +5000 |
| MATT WALLACE | +5000 |
| MIN WOO LEE | +5000 |
| ZACH JOHNSON | +6600 |
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