The Tour is heading back to the states to Florida for this year’s edition of The Honda Classic. As has been the case since 2007, the event will be played at PGA National’s Champion course. The course is a par 70 that plays a little over 7,100 yards depending on the setup. Luckily for the field, they are off of the bumpy poa annua greens we’ve seen over the past month or so and onto TifEagle Bermudagrass this week. The greens are average in every way from speed to size but this course definitely has some teeth.
The lowest winning score across the tournament’s history here is 13 under[1] and it’s ranged from 5 under to 12 under every other year. Last year featured quite a bit of carnage as it played as the second toughest course on tour with a 6-over cut. Only the US Open venue, Shinnecock Hills, played more difficult last season. The course is also home to the famous — or infamous, for some — Bear Trap.
PAST WINNERS
| Golfer | Year | Winning Score | DraftKings Points |
| Justin Thomas | 2018 | -8 | 97 |
| Rickie Fowler | 2017 | -12 | 110 |
| Adam Scott | 2016 | -9 | 107.5 |
| Padraig Harrington | 2015 | -6 | 100 |
| Russell Henley | 2014 | -8 | 102.5 |
OFF THE TEE
This track is known as a place where golfers can, and will, club down off the tee. So when I cite driving distance as a rank, we need to remember that it’s all relative as guys will definitely take woods and irons off the tee at times. With that being said, there have been 236 golfers that have finished in the top 20 of DK scoring since 2010. Of those, 106 (45 percent) have finished in the top 25 of driving accuracy compared to 102 (43 percent) that hit that rank in driving distance.
| Driving Accuracy Rank (2019) | Golfer (Salary) |
| 1 | Kevin Streelman ($6,700) |
| 2 | Vaughn Taylor ($6,700) |
| 3 | Gary Woodland ($9,800) |
| 4 | Dylan Fritteli ($7,400) |
| 5 | Rickie Fowler ($11,200) |
| 6 | Brendan Steele ($7,000) |
| 7 | Adam Long ($6,400) |
| 8 | Jason Kokrak ($7,300) |
| 9 | Ryan Armour ($6,700) |
| 10 | Brian Stuard ($6,500) |
ON APPROACH
There might not be a very clear answer this week when it comes to stats off the tee, there’s no denying the importance of approach shots. If we take a look at that group of 236 top 20 DK scorers again, we have 137 (58 percent) that finished in the top 25 in greens in regulation. I don’t usually spend a lot of time talking about around the green game, but it’s worth noting that it holds a bit more importance this week. Whenever you have a course where the field hits fewer than 60 percent of the greens in regulation, getting up and down will always factor in.
| GIR Rank (2019) | Golfer (Salary) |
| 1 | Justin Thomas ($11,900) |
| 2 | Talor Gooch ($7,600) |
| 3 | Harold Varner III ($7,300) |
| 4 | Carlos Ortiz ($6,600) |
| 5 | Bud Cauley ($7,200) |
| 6 | Jason Kokrak ($7,300) |
| 7 | Zach Johnson ($8,700) |
| 8 | Kevin Streelman ($6,700) |
| 9 | Gary Woodland ($9,800) |
| 10 | Scott Piercy ($8,100) |
Key Stats
- Greens in Regulation
- Driving Accuracy
- SG: Putting (Bermuda)
- SG: Around the Green
Footnotes
| ↑1 | Camilo Villegas in 2010. |
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