D Money
Justin Thomas
Like many of the pros teeing it up this week, the Honda Classic is a home game for me as well. Sticking with that theme I’m going with one of the “hometown” guys this week and picking Justin Thomas. While JT hasn’t won since the calendar turned to 2018, he is coming off a T-9 finish last week at the Genesis Open. In the last two years, it feels like Thomas has won everything but the event in his backyard and I am picking him to add the Honda to his list of wins this week.
The Stiff Shaft
Rory McIlroy
These picks are always a shot in the dark. Every week a new player can catch fire on Saturday-Sunday and walk away with a win. It’s hard not to go with Rickie Fowler this week considering he won here last year and has had a really solid start to his season, but I’m going with another previous Honda Classic winner in Rory McIlroy. McIlroy is coming off of a T20 performance at the Genesis Open and hasn’t made the cut at the Honda Classic since he finished T2 in 2014. His win came in 2012. It may be a bit of a reach to expect McIlroy to walk into PGA National and perform at the level he did when he won, but he appears to be reinvigorated this season and should definitely get a win. Will it be this week? I think so.