Honda Classic Betting Preview

Frank Doyle makes his picks for this week’s Honda Classic Golf Championship at Palm Beach, Florida.

This is now the post-Tiger era. We have to come to terms with that now. Whether Tiger ever returns to what he was before, or even 80% of that, the fact is he’s just another guy now.

The best player in golf now is Germany’s Martin Kaymer, and the hottest is England’s Luke Donald, Donald having beaten Kaymer in the Match Play Championship in Arizona last Sunday. That win sees Donald rise six places in the World Rankings, as per the table below. It also means the top four golfers in the world are now all Europeans, something we haven’t seen in nearly twenty years.

One of those Europeans, Lee Westwood is the ante post favorite for the Honda Classic, an event he’s never won. Westwood is available at 12/1, with Luke Donald 14/1 and Irishmen Rory McIlory and Graeme McDowell both returning $170 on every $10 bet either wins the Honda Classic.

Matt Kuchar, winner of the tournament nine years ago, is 18/1 and it’s 25/1 the field then, featuring such contenders as Ricky Fowler, Ian Poulter, 2009 winner YE Yang and current Champion Camilo Villegas of Columbia.

As well as the outright, Sports Interaction is offering daily betting as the rounds as played, group betting, matchups, big guns, best USA, Australian and so on, winning margin and even golf odds on a top ten finish.

For myself, I’m going with Rory McIlory to win outright with a side bet on the curly-headed Irishman to be top European as well. With the exception of the notorious Bear Trap, the PGA National Course rewards aggressive play and if McIlory catches a headwind there’s no catching him.

Bet now on the Honda Golf Championship!

Golf World Rankings, Feb 28th, 2011