Honda Classic

Course: TPC at Heron Bay, Coral Springs, Florida
Yardage: 7268
Par: 72  (four par-fives)
USGA Rating: 74.9
Greens: Tifdwarf Bermudagrass and Emerald Bentgrass - 7,000 sq.ft  (Tour average: 6,000 sq.ft)

GCSAA Tournament Fact Sheet

Weather Forecast

Best Players Last 10 Years

Past Winners:
2001 - Jesper Parnevik
2000 - Dudley Hart
1999 - Vijay Singh
1998 - Mark Calcavecchia
1997 - Stuart Appleby
1996 - Tim Herron
1995 - Mark O'Meara
1994 - Nick Price
1993 - Fred Couples
1992 - Corey Pavin

Outright plays (all plays 1 unit unless stated):

Chris DiMarco to win 22/1 e.w. @ Bet365
Nothing wrong with DiMarco's form last week ... for 18 holes. At the end of the day, he only just made the cut and went through the motions over the weekend. He has been in great form all year, just the one bad week when he missed the cut in the Sony Open, so maybe last week's loss of form will be just as brief. The fact that all five previous Honda Classics have been won by a Florida resident also helps this selection.

Brad Faxon to win 28/1 e.w. @ Bet365, BetInternet, Sportingbet or Victor Chandler
The next two selections avoided the winds of last week and should benefit as a result. Not quite in the same form as DiMarco, but not far short, Faxon has finished in the top-3 in both of his last two tournaments. This course is perceived to be a big hitter's paradise, but the last two winners - Parnevik and Hart - did rank very highly in the putting stats at the time as well.

Kenny Perry to win 33/1 e.w. @ Bet365, BetInternet, Sportingbet or Blue Square
Deceptively long and top of the greens in regulation stats, Perry looks far better value at this price than the likes of Mickelson or Love. Top-30 only in the past two years, looking at a rejuvenated and fresh Kenny to play considerably better around Heron Bay this time.

72-hole plays (all plays 1 unit unless stated):

Kenny Perry to beat Stuart Appleby -125 @ WSEX
Appleby has a terrific record on this course, but he is woefully out of form. His 33rd place finish last week was by far his best performance of the year. Have to side with the in-form Perry.

Kenny Perry to beat Steve Flesch -115 @ Bet365
Similar story here. Flesch's record on this course is excellent, but he has not played well this year. He has broken par just 10 times from 20 rounds this year and that is not good enough at this level.

Chris DiMarco to beat Mark Calcavecchia -118 @ Easybets [2 units]
And again! A win, a runners-up spot and another top-10 finish in the last four years is in stark contrast to three missed cuts in four events since the Tour reached the mainland.

Chris DiMarco to beat John Huston -140 @ Cascade
Opposed Huston last week as his widely-regarded superior performance on the Bermuda greens of Florida did not hold true at Doral. Nor does it at Heron Bay. He finished 76th last week, 46th the week before, has an average record on this course and is easily opposed.

Per-Ulrik Johansson to beat Paul McGinley -115 @ Bet365
Opposed McGinley in his first PGA Tour event of the year - the Nissan Open, where he finished 74th - and will gladly do so again this week. No history on this course and he should struggle to make the cut. Johansson has at least played here, making the cut last year, and has produced two top-10 finishes in his last four events.

Chris Riley to beat Paul McGinley -111 @ Simon Bold
Riley has missed a lot of cuts this year - three from six starts - but has finished in the top-25 in the other events. With course finishes of 9th and 28th, this one is really down to which Riley turns up this week, but I'll take this to win far more than 50% of the time on the PGA Tour.

Final update:

Matchups: 5-1-0; +2.64 units

Perry/Appleby WON by 6 (at the cut)
Perry/Flesch WON by 4 (at the cut)
DiMarco/Calcavecchia LOST by 5
DiMarco/Huston WON by 2
Johansson/McGinley WON by 7 (at the cut)
Riley/McGinley WON by 6 (at the cut)

Outrights: 1-2; +1.00 units

DiMarco 48th
Faxon 2nd
Perry 30th

First profitable event on the PGA Tour this season! Could have been much better as well. Perry was in contention all week until the very end and DiMarco once again started very well only to give it all back. And then there was Faxon who could have won, but Kuchar was surprisingly very impressive down the stretch. But at least it was still a profitable event!