Patrick Waters 
The Range is a course breakdown for the upcoming PGA tournament with a DFS perspective. This week the tour is in Florida as the players face off in the Honda Classic.
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The Basics
Course: PGA National
Par: 70
Length: 7,125 yards
Fairways: Bermuda
Greens: TifEagle Bermuda (Above average speed)
Architect: Tom Fazio (Renovations by Jack Nicklaus)
Past five winners: ’19 Mitchell (-9), ’18 Thomas (-8), ’17 Fowler (-12), ’16 Scott (-9), ’15 Harrington (-6)
For a hole by hole breakdown, please visit the PGA Tour website here.
Course Introduction
The Honda Classic will be held at the PGA National (Champion) Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Along with the return to Florida also comes the return of the cut line (Top 65 and ties). Birdies will be a premium this week as the average score is only -8.
Wind tends to play the lead role in the course’s defense. As of this writing, most of the wind looks to be holding off until the weekend. If this should change it might be adventitious to look at stacking some Am/Pm waves. Outside of tournaments natural defenses, the Honda Classic has two stretches of holes that are some of the toughest on tour. The more famous of the two is the Bear Trap on the back nine, holes 15, 16 and 17. Water is present on each hole and the greens are positioned to make even the best ball strikers rethink their shot.
Course Breakdown
The last two years have yielded tough scoring conditions, which includes 2019 where the wind wasn’t a big factor. Being able to maneuver this field and attack when the opportunity presents itself will be key. Here are the top 10 golfers that have performed well in this area over the last 24 rounds.
While the fairways are not the toughest to land on this week, being able to gain strokes ball striking will go a long way. Between the water on most holes and the greens, playing well off the tee and in the approach game will benefit the golfer greatly. Below are the top 10 golfers in the field at the Honda Classic and how well they have executed in ball striking.
As we mentioned in the primer, the tour is back on Bermuda greens. We’ll want to look at golfers who have performed well over the long hall but also players that have excelled on Bermuda.
Here are all three conditions being applied to the field and where they would rank among each other.
Player Fit
As you can see above, all four Par 3 come in between 150 – 200 yards, this includes the fifth and sixth toughest holes on the course. With this in mind, I’ll be looking at Proximity between 150 – 200 yards. With the Honda Classic being a harder track to score on, golfers with high bogey avoidance will certainly be in my player pool. We will need golfers who put them in a position to do well and score when given the chance. Opportunity gained and BOB will be weighted in the model as well.
Players who have done historically well with the flat stick and those that have elevated splits with Bermuda grass will be added as well. Like most weeks, ball striking will be in the model as well. In case the golfer misses the fairway or is just off the green, being able to scramble will be needed.
Here is all the key stats combined for and the golfers available to fill the need.
Final Recap – Honda Classic
Keep an eye on the weather. A possible stack could emerge as the better of the two. There will be a bit more emphasis on recent form this week as course history is not a true indicator of future results.
Course Setup
Difficult to score
Average to hit fairways
Bermuda greens
Player Efficiencies
Ball Striking
Bermuda putting
Bogey Avoidance
Scrambling
Proximity: 150 – 200 yards
Opportunity Gained
Thanks for reading and I hope this article is a great starting place for your DFS research at the Honda Classic. Look out for the Insight Sheet dropping Wednesday. It will include my personal player pool and reasoning why each golfer was chosen. Also Wednesday night you can find me in the Win Daily Discord helping members with their lineups and last-minute questions.
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Stat Source: Fantasy National
