The PGA Tour is in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida this week for the annual Honda Classic. The event, which is being held at the Par 70 7,110 yards PGA National Champion Course, is scheduled to get underway at 7:00am ET tomorrow morning; it will be broadcast on NBC and The Golf Channel. 2012 Honda Classic Odds have Irishman Rory McIlroy, who is currently No. 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings, listed as a +700 moneyline favorite to win this weekend’s tournament.
A total of $5,700,000 is on the line this weekend, but the lion’s share of that money (over $1,000,000) will go to the victor. Most are expecting that person to be either Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, or Tiger Woods.
McIlroy has set a blistering early pace this season, recording four top five finishes, including a second place turn at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and a win at the UBS Hong Kong Open, in five European Tour events. Most recently the 22 year old took second place to Hunter Mahan in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship last weekend at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Dove Mountain – Marana, Arizona.
Westwood, who lost to McIlroy in the semi-finals at the WGC over the weekend, has also played well on the European Tour, placing inside the top 20 in five of the six events he has entered this season. Prior to last weekend’s action Westwood took second place at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in early February with a 17 under par score of 271. Westwood is presently No. 3 in the OWGR behind Luke Donald and McIlroy and he trails only McIlroy in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai Rankings.
Woods, obviously, has not enjoyed the recent success of McIlory or Westwood, but he is at least starting to resemble the golfer who repeatedly garnered favored status. Tiger, who has not won a PGA event since capturing the BMW Championship in September of 2009, defeated Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship last Wednesday, but he fell to Nick Watney in Thursday’s second round.
Woods placed 15th at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (eight under par 278) before taking part in the WGC; he took third at the European Tour’s Abu Dhani HSBC Golf Championship in late January with an 11 under par 278.
Tomorrow will, shockingly, represent Woods first professional entry in the The Honda Classic.
Other top contenders this weekend include major winners Charl Schwartzel, Greame McDowell, Padraig Harrington, Jim Furyk, YE Yang, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, and Louis Oosthuizen. Last year’s Honda Classic winner, Rory Sabbatini, who hauled $1,026,000 in winnings, is listed at +5950 moneyline odds to defend his title.
2012 Honda Classic Odds: Provided by SBG Global
Rory McIlroy +700
Lee Westwood +700
Tiger Woods +850
Charl Schwartzel +1400
Keegan Bradley +1750
Kyle Stanley +2700
Ben Crane +2500
Greame McDowell +3200
Justin Rose +2700
Padraig Harrington +4200
YE Yang +4200
Robert Allenby +4200
Jim Furyk +4200
Louis Oosthuizen +4500
Mark Wilson +4500
Fredrik Jacobson +4750
Charles Howell +5450
Spencer Levin +5450
Sean O’Hair +5450
Jimmy Walker +5450
Ian Poulter +5950
Thomas Bjorn +5950
Rickie Fowler +5950
Robert Karlsson +5950
John Rollins +5950
Rory Sabbatini +5950
Ernie Els +6500
Ricky Barnes +6500
JB Holmes +6500
Sang Moon Bae +7000
Carl Pettersson +7000
Ryan Moore +7000
Charlie Wi +7000
Camilo Villegas +6500
Retief Goosen +6850
Field (Any Other Player) +100
