Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – The Honda Classic

2020 Honda Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

Did golf’s unlikeliest of bromances blossom in Mexico last week?

Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau, much-maligned and often misunderstood according to the duo themselves, duked it out for supremacy at the WGC-Mexico Championship and it was Captain America who came out on top with a flurry of late birdies.

He and DeChambeau spoke favorably about one another after the completion of their rounds, with Bryson even congratulating Reed on the eighteenth green.

Embed from Getty Images

Both, you suspect, enjoyed outfoxing a member of the popular ‘Frat Pack’ of U.S. golf in Justin Thomas, and you wonder how far this reign of terror from two of golf’s most unconventional characters might go. Could this be a Ryder Cup pairing for the ages?

We won’t find out this week because neither are making the journey to PGA National, host of the Honda Classic, where the PGA TOUR’s Florida Swing begins in earnest this week.

Gone are the happy-go-lucky birdie-fests of California, and it’s straight into the dragon’s lair with PGA National playing as one of the hardest courses on the rotation outside of the majors.

The winning score in four of the last five years has been single digits under par, and that gives an idea of how tricky this layout – as does the fact that the stretch of holes from 15-17 is known as ‘The Bear Trap’, a nod to the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus, who refurbished this course in 1990.

Nicklaus must have been in a bad mood when he set about reinventing PGA National, because this trio of holes in particular features some devilish tests of ball striking. The rough is left to grow thick and juicy, while the large Bermuda greens have tiers and undulations that can bring a grown man to his knees.

Happily for the players, the eighteenth is the easiest hole on the course, so we should be in for a cracking finale come Sunday.

This Par 70 layout features just two Par 5s and plays into a serious wind – gusts of 17mph are expected in Palm Beach this week – so whoever grinds out the win will have well and truly earned their spoils in Florida.

This isn’t the strongest of field in the world, with many perhaps choosing to save themselves for the Arnold Palmer Invitational and PLAYERS Championship, both of which are incoming, and that hopefully opens the door to a sleeper winner – as it did with Keith Mitchell, who won from nowhere as a 200/1 outsider.

Could we see a repeat in 2020? Let’s see if we can unearth some value with our shortlist of Honda Classic sleeper picks.

[membership level=”0″]

You must be a Premium Member to view our exclusive fantasy golf picks.

Already a member?  Sign in Here.

[/membership]

[membership level=”1,2,3″]

Honda Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

J.T. Poston – 60/1 – With plenty of eye-catching form in the past on Bermuda, J.T. Poston is one of those who may come into his own during the Florida Swing.

He’s certainly worth supporting when the wind is up, and his overall formline is solid with just two cuts missed all season.

A winner on the Bermuda greens of Sedgefield CC, Poston has the profile of a multiple-time PGA TOUR winner, so let’s see if a return to Par 70 golf will be up his street this week.

Ryan Palmer – 66/1 – Reliable in the wind, Ryan Palmer has recorded a second and a fourth place at PGA National and has only missed one cut in his last eight visits – insightful, really, given how tough this layout is.

You sense the veteran Texan loves a grind, and that was never more in evident than in the Sony Open, where he finished T4 in horrendous conditions.

An excellent driver of the ball, Palmer can put himself in some excellent positions at PGA National, and if his iron game is on song – necessary, given how bad his chipping is – then we could be in business, because he’s a far better putter on Bermuda than any other surface.

Corey Conners – 66/1 – Well down the field at the WGC-Mexico Championship, it was once again the flat stick that let Corey Conners down.

Can that issue be resolved this week? Maybe, maybe not, but what we do know is that is much better on Bermuda – his three best finishes on the PGA TOUR in winning the Texas Open, finishing second in the Sanderson Farms and third in the Sony Open have all come on the surface.

That way, we have a premium ball-striker who if – and that’s a big ‘if’ – he makes some putts will be an irresistible force anywhere he plays.

Wyndham Clark – 70/1 – Whack it long and make some putts.

There’s not much subtlety or nuance to Wyndham Clark’s game, but he is finding a way to make it work for him with top-20s in his last pair of starts on Tour.

He’s another who has the look of somebody who can regularly contest the business end of events, and while last year’s Honda Classic ultimately ended in disappointment Clark can take plenty of positives from leading at the 54-hole stage.

Harold Varner III – 100/1 – Completely out of nowhere, Harold Varner III struck the ball remarkably at the Genesis Invitational, contesting for honors before a poor final round scuppered that.

Ranking 15th this season for Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, Varner has been in excellent ball-striking form and he is another who may just appreciate the change of greens to Bermuda.

It’s amazing how the shift from east to west can make all the difference to a player, and Varner III has performed well in Florida and further up the coast in the past. Could this be the catalyst for him finally ending his PGA TOUR title drought?

[/membership]

Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the Honda Classic here.

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2019-2020)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=1.11%” bar_text=”1 out of 90 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “5.56%” bar_text=”5 out of 90 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”33.33%” bar_text=”30 out of 90 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”5.56%” bar_text=”1 out of 18 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 18 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”65.56%” bar_text=”59 out of 90 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

---

Cover photo via Instagram