Joaquin Niemann among best bets at PGA Tour’s Honda Classic
With none of the top 14-ranked players in the field, the Honda Classic shapes up as a wide-open tournament this week at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Daniel Berger, ranked No. 15, is the 12-1 favorite at the Westgate sportsbook, followed by Sungjae Im (14-1), Joaquin Niemann (18-1) and Lee Westwood (20-1).
Handicapper Wes Reynolds (@WesReynolds1), co-host of VSiN’s “Long Shots” golf betting show, picked Justin Thomas to win the Players Championship last week at 22-1 odds in the Review-Journal.
Here are Reynolds’ best bets for the Honda:
Joaquin Niemann, 19-1, Circa
“While Niemann has not kept his form from Hawaii earlier this season, where he shot a combined 45 under par in back-to-back runner-up finishes, he is still playing good golf.
“He leads this week’s field in scoring average and birdie average and has an excellent recent history on par 70s. The putting can come and go. However, he seems to like these TifEagle Bermuda greens.”
Cameron Tringale, 40-1
“Tringale has posted six top-30 finishes in his last nine starts, dating back to last November in Houston.”
Ian Poulter, 63-1
“Poulter officially fell out of the OWGR top 64 last weekend and is hanging on to a spot in next week’s WGC-Dell Match Play. As one of the most consistent match players in the world, he definitely wants to be in that field.
“He has been a bit out of form lately, but this is the type of course where he can flourish due to his superior scrambling skills. No one has been better in this category of late.”
Kyoung-Hoon Lee, 75-1
“Lee has two top-10 finishes in three appearances here. He also had a close call at Phoenix earlier this year, when he finished runner-up to Brooks Koepka.”
Matthew NeSmith, 100-1
“Like Lee, NeSmith was right in the mix at Phoenix before finishing seventh. He has missed the last two cuts, but his ball striking and approach games have continued to flourish.”
Chez Reavie, 130-1
“Reavie has been in poor form, missing four of his last six cuts, and he has not played this event since 2013. Nevertheless, he ranks highly in approach shots, ball striking and proximity from 175 to 200 yards. He’s worth a stab at a big price.”
Bo Hoag, 115-1
“Hoag has a long history with course redesigner Jack Nicklaus. Hoag’s late grandfather, Robert Hoag, was a close friend of Jack’s and was highly involved with the construction of Muirfield Village.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.