GOLF

Daily Fantasy Golf Course Primer: The Honda Classic

PGA National is a tough course. What do your FanDuel golfers need to do well to succeed?

We finally saw Bubba Watson get back on the board at last week's Genesis Open, and it's always nice to see some of the game's best players remind us of what they're capable of.

This week, we'll see some more of the game's top options take on a tough PGA National course for the Honda Classic. What do you need to know about the course?

Course and Tournament Info

The par 70 -- located in Palm Beach Gardens in Florida -- runs around 7,100 yards and, based on scores relative to par, is always one of the toughest tests on the entire PGA Tour.

Year Difficulty Rank Course Par Yds Avg Score Avg O/U Par
2017 16 PGA National (Champion) 70 7,140 70.556 0.556
2016 5 PGA National (Champion) 70 7,140 71.768 1.768
2015 4 PGA National (Champion) 70 7,140 71.832 1.832
2014 17 PGA National (Champion) 70 7,140 70.408 0.408
2013 5 PGA National (Champion) 70 7,110 71.318 1.318
2012 11 PGA National (Champion) 70 7,110 71.186 1.186
2011 2 PGA National (Champion) 70 7,158 72.540 2.540
2010 2 PGA National (Champion) 70 7,158 71.640 1.640
2009 7 PGA National (Champion) 70 7,158 71.389 1.389
2008 9 PGA National (Champion) 70 7,158 71.825 1.825
2007 8 PGA National (Champion) 70 7,241 71.958 1.958


The greens are Bermuda, and the birdies are hard to come by. Sure, the Bear Trap (holes 15, 16, and 17) are notoriously difficult, but just four holes have played below par since 2007. Yikes.

The past five winners finished -12, -9, -6, -8, and -9. How do the contenders manage to score well -- or at least well enough to finish near the top?

Key Stats

Strokes gained: tee to green is pretty much undefeated, so you should always factor it into your decisions. But here are some of the more specific areas where your golfers should excel in order to do well here at PGA National.

Key Stats for The Honda Classic at PGA National
Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Putting (on Bermuda)
Greens in Regulation
Scrambling


Per FantasyGolfMetrics.com, golfers finishing inside the top 25 here since 2007 gained an average of 0.808 strokes approaching the green. Those who missed the cut lost 0.749.

Factoring in the Bermuda greens is worthwhile, too. Golfers who missed the cut here since 2007 lost an average of 1.202 strokes on the greens, more than the usual lost strokes on the PGA Tour for those missing the cut.

Via FutureOfFantasy.com, the greens grade out as "very difficult" to hit, and that places an emphasis on greens in regulation and/or proximity to the hole.

And scrambling has also correlated well to finishing position at PGA National over the past 11 years.

Course History Studs

Rickie Fowler won here last year after finishing sixth in 2016. Prior to that, he was 41st, 24th, 13th, and 7th after a pair of missed cuts back in 2010 and 2011. It's safe to say he's figured this one out.

Sean O'Hair, like Fowler, has five top 25s at PGA National. His past five finishes were 18th, cut, 25th, 14th, and 11th.

Graeme McDowell also has really strong finishes here. Since 2010, he's played here all eight years and finished 31st, 6th, 9th, 9th, 46th, cut, 5th, and 14th. Goodness.

Sergio Garcia's racked up three top-15 finishes in the past four years (8th, 31st, 2nd, and 14th). Jason Dufner bookended a 61st in 2016 with a 17th and 14th in 2015 and 2017, respectively.

Luke Donald snapped a streak of three consecutive top 10s two years ago when he finished 61st in 2016, but he bounced back for a 27th last year.

Rory McIlroy won in 2012, withdrew in 2013, and finished 2nd in 2014. Since then, he's missed both cuts at PGA National. In his win, he gained 5.2 strokes putting. When he was second, he gained 4.9. McIlroy lost strokes on the greens in his two missed cuts.

Adam Scott finished 12th, 1st, and 14th since 2014 at PGA National. However, the recent form dilutes it all. Wesley Bryan (9th and 4th) and Billy Horschel (8th and 4th) have two straight top 10s each.