2022 Honda Classic Round 2 Betting & Showdown Picks
Ron Klos
4 years ago
Kurt Kitayama, the 289th-ranked player in the world, shot a 6-under 64 to lead after the first round of the Honda Classic. Daniel Berger, Rory Sabbatini and Chris Kirk each sit one shot back at 5-under. Numerous high-ranked players struggled on the difficult PGA National course and finished well over par, including the likes of Matthew Wolff, Louis Oosthuizen, and Sungjae Im. Three players were still on the course with one hole left when darkness suspended play. Winds were moderate for most of the day and look to be fairly light for the entire round tomorrow.
Weather Forecast
Post-Round 1 Player Quotes
*Quotes courtesy of ASAP Sports Transcriptions
RORY SABBATINI: You know what, I’m actually quite thankful that they might have overdried out the greens earlier in the week so they had to put a lot of water on them. The greens were receptive today, which is unusual for this golf course. Normally if you miss the fairway right on 11 you have no chance of hitting that green, and I was able to stop it on that green today, which I was very surprised. The course is very receptive. It’s going to be a challenge for them going down the week with the wind. They’re going to have to take close care on what happens with the greens drying out. Well, this is a golf course that in effect, even though it’s not necessarily a short golf course, but it definitely puts a premium on controlling the golf ball, not necessarily on power or accuracy. It’s just controlling your misses and controlling your distances more than anything.
AARON RAI: It was very firm here Monday through until Wednesday, so coupled with the fact that it gets windy here, there are some long holes, obviously a lot of water, you can see why it’s one of the hardest courses on the PGA TOUR. We were fortunate this morning, it was a little bit softer, maybe a little bit more dew on the ground in the morning, so at least you could hold wedge shots, you could hold iron shots, which kind of made a few of the pins a bit more accessible than what they would have felt like played yesterday or Tuesday, but nevertheless it’s still a very demanding and challenging course.
BROOKS KOEPKA: The wind got up there probably a little bit earlier than I thought it would. Course is in good shape. There’s not much grass on the greens. The green surfaces aren’t great. A couple dead spots. But other than that, the course is in great shape from tee to the fringe.
CHRIS KIRK: It’s usually pretty windy all day here. I’m sure we’ll get a little bit calmer at the beginning of the day tomorrow, but I don’t care what the conditions are, this course is never easy. You’ve just got to get ready, get out there and try to just stack up as many good swings and as many good putts as you can and see where it leads you.
Current Betting Favorites
- Daniel Berger +375
- Chris Kirk +1200
- Billy Horschel +1200
- Brooks Koepka +1200
- Rory Sabbatini +2200
- Best Current Outright Value: Tommy Fleetwood +3100 FanDuel
Fleetwood shot a 69 and had a good all-around performance on Thursday. On a course with such high volatility, a five-shot deficit means little after one round. With two top-five finishes here, expect Fleetwood to climb his way closer to the top tomorrow.
Round 2 Betting Selections
*Betting lines accurate at the time of publication.
Mito Pereira (+115) Over Sam Ryder and Satoshi Kodaira
Mito Pereira holds a sizeable Strokes Gained Rating edge over both Sam Ryder and Satoshi Kodaira, mostly thanks to his superior ball-striking in round one. Ryder did most of his damage with the putter, and Kodaira was flat-out terrible in every area. PGA National is a perfect fit for Pereira’s style of play and that should continue in Friday’s second round.
Risk: 1 Unit on DraftKings.
Round 2 DraftKings DFS Showdown Selections
Core Plays
- Billy Horschel, $9,900
- Jhonattan Vegas, $8,100
- Denny McCarthy, $7,800
Top-Tier Plays
- Sungjae Im, $10,700
- Daniel Berger, $10,200
- Tommy Fleetwood, $9,500
Mid-Tier Plays
- Cameron Young, $8,900
- Brian Harman, $8,600
- Mito Pereira, $8,500
- Mackenzie Hughes, $8,200
Value Plays
- Adam Svensson, $7,000
- Taylor Moore, $7,500
- Ian Poulter, $7,300
- Matthias Schwab, $7,200
- Patrick Rodgers, $7,100
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