2023 Honda Classic Betting Preview, Odds, Picks & Predictions

This may begin to sound like a broken record – another week in the books and another Jon Rahm win. Rahm continued his dominating play last week, winning the Genesis Invitational by two strokes for his third win of the season and 10th of his career — the win has also propelled him to the new No. 1 Official World Golf Ranked player.

To put his dominance into focus, he has played in six tournaments this season, won three of them and finished in the top 10 in the other three. Luckily for the field this week, Jon Rahm is not in it

We have officially concluded the west coast swing and are onto sunny Florida for the next four weeks. This week’s tournament is the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

2023 Honda Classic

• February 23-26, 2023
• PGA National Resort, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
• Purse: $8,400,000
• Defending Champ: Sepp Straka

The Honda Classic has been played since 1972 under various names and courses, but since 2007, the tournament has been played at the Champion course on PGA National Resort. The tournament is a 72-hole, stroke play tournament, with a cut after 36 holes down to the top 65 players and ties.

Weather in the Sunshine State should not disappoint this week, forecasting sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-80s but the wind will likely be a factor.

What Course Is the Honda Classic Held At?

The Honda Classic is played at the difficult Champion course on PGA National Resort. The course was designed by George and Tom Fazio in 1981 for major tournament play and held the PGA Championship in 1987.

The course was redesigned by the great Jack Nicklaus in 2014 and is one of the more challenging courses on tour. Water comes into play on seemingly every hole and where there isn’t water, you’ll find bunkers and narrow fairways in landing areas.

The Champion measures in at 7,125 yards, par 70. Much like last week, the course will require players to use every club in the bag and distance will be a perk. The par 3s can make or break a player’s chances this week. Accuracy will be imperative to avoid water and bunkers and hitting Greens in Regulation. Putting always plays a factor but greens should not be extremely difficult this week.

How To Watch the Honda Classic

• Thursday: 2-6 p.m. ET Golf Channel
• Friday: 2-6 p.m. ET Golf Channel
• Saturday: 1-3 p.m. ET Golf Channel; 3-6 p.m. ET NBC
• Sunday: 1-3 p.m. ET Golf Channel; 3-6 p.m. ET NBC

How To Listen To the Honda Classic

• Thursday: 12-6 p.m. ET Sirius XM
• Friday: 12-6 p.m. ET Sirius XM
• Saturday: 1-6 p.m. ET Sirius XM
• Sunday: 1-6 p.m. ET Sirius XM

Payouts for the 2023 Honda Classic

The total purse of the 2023 Honda Classic is $8,400,000. The winner receives 500 FedEx Cup points and a minimum of 24 Official World Golf Ranking points — additional Official World Golf Ranking points can be added based on the tournament’s strength of field.

The champion also receives a two-season exemption on the PGA Tour, as well as inclusion to the 2023 Masters and 2023 PGA Championship, and the 2024 Sentry Tournament of Champions. 

How many Golfers are in the 2023 Honda Classic?

There are 144 golfers teeing it up this week at the Honda Classic. After two of the deeper fields we have seen this season at WM Phoenix Open and Genesis Invitational, this week there is a slight drop. Eight of the top 50 Official World Golf Ranking players are teeing it up this week.

Who has the Best Odds of Winning the 2023 Honda Classic?

The current top three favorites to win the 2023 Honda Classic are 2020 Honda Classic Champ Sungjae Im (+850), last year’s runner-up Shane Lowry (+1600), and Aaron Wise (+2200) rounding out the top three.

Honda Classic Past Winner

• 2022 Sepp Straka (-10)
• 2021 Matt Jones (-12)
• 2020 Sungjae Im (-6)
• 2019 Keith Mitchell (-9)
• 2018 Justin Thomas (-8)

2023 Honda Classic Predictions & Picks

Sungjae Im Tournament Winner | +850 at BetMGM

There is a reason Sungjae Im is the favorite this week. He has won here in 2020 and was T8 in 2021. He missed the cut last year but has been playing consistently well from the end of last season to now. He is 14th in Stroke Gained: Total and has the ability to win again here.

Shane Lowry Top 5 Finish | +350 at BetMGM

Shane Lowry finished runner-up in the rain at last year’s Honda Classic and has made the cut every time he played so he knows his way around the course. The field is not as deep this week and should leave the door open for a strong finish for Shane.

Matt Kuchar Top 10 Finish | +220 at BetMGM

Matt Kuchar played very well last week at the Genesis Invitational finishing eight and has two top 10 finishes in his last four starts. His game should set up nicely on this course and see him finishing top 10 again this week.