DraftKings Preview: The Honda Classic

The PGA TOUR begins its Florida swing this week with The Honda Classic. PGA National will be the host and is a 7,125-yard par 70 featuring Bermuda grass greens. This is always an exciting event with all of the water hazards littered throughout the course. The field this week will be headlined by 2020 winner Sungjae Im, along with Billy Horschel and Shane Lowry.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1M Pitch + Putt [$250K to 1st]

Sungjae Im ($10,700)

It feels cliche to write up the highest-priced player in the field, but Im stands out among the rest of the expensive options this week. He won this event back in 2020 and followed that up with a T8 in 2021. He did miss the cut last year after opening with a 74 on Thursday, but with the volatility of this course due to all the water hazards, we can give him a pass. Im ranks third in this field in SG: Tee-to-Green per round at PGA National, trailing only Byeong Hun An and Adam Svensson.

It also will not come as a surprise, but Im also ranks No. 1 in this field in both SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Total over his past 48 rounds as well. It’s not particularly close either, as he sits a whopping .58 strokes per round better than Aaron Wise, who ranks second. Im did not play great last week at Riviera, but he never usually does, and now that we are back on Bermuda, we can safely go back to him this week at what feels like a bit too cheap $10,700 price tag.

Jhonattan Vegas ($8,600)

It’s not easy to find golfers in this field with both good course history and good recent form, outside of the most expensive options. However, Vegas checks both boxes this week. The Venezuelan is coming in with some of the best rolling numbers in the field, both long and short term. He sits third in SG: Tee-to-Green and fourth in SG: Ball-Striking in this field over his past 48 rounds, while ranking No. 1 in both categories over his past 12 rounds.

Vegas loves this event, having played it eight of the past 10 years, including each of the past six. In this stretch, he’s missed just one cut, which came all the way back in 2015, while posting a T4, two top-16 finishes and two additional top-30 finishes. He’s played well of late also, with two top-25 finishes over his past three starts. Most of the golfers teeing it up this week have shoddy course history at PGA National, so it’s nice to lock in some safety with Vegas, who we can reasonably project to make the weekend with additional upside beyond that.

Lee Hodges ($7,700)

Hodges played great at The Genesis Invitational last week, finishing in a tie for 18th place in what was one of the best fields we will see all year. He gained strokes both off-the-tee and on approach in three of his four rounds, and gained 3.2 strokes putting for the week as well. It’s perfect timing for the 27-year-old, who made his debut at PGA National last year and lit it up, finishing in a tie for ninth.

It was only one start, but Hodges gained 1.8 total strokes on the field per round here last year, which would rank him fourth in this field. His long-term numbers look great as well, as he ranks seventh in SG: Ball-Striking and 12th in both SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Total over his past 48 rounds in this field. After his performance last week, he’s likely a bit too cheap for his upside this week, which is something we can capitalize on.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1M Pitch + Putt [$250K to 1st]

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is Lan1228) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.