Fantasy Golf Showdown: 2023 Honda Classic Saturday Selections

I will provide a quick summary of the first two rounds of the 2023 Honda Classic before diving into my favorite plays for Round 3 Showdown contests on DraftKings.

Keep in mind that we want to project future success and not rely on previous accomplishments.

Round 1 at the 2023 Honda Classic was a bit of a mixed bag. There was definitely some of the carnage that we’ve come accustomed to here (Matt Kuchar). There was also a fair amount of low scoring.

Billy Horschel only had one bogey at the start of the Bear Trap on his way to a first-round 65 and a share of the lead. Joseph Bramlett was bogey-free also, shooting a 65 in round one.

They were joined by Carson Young who finished his round Friday morning. He rode the putter to a share of the lead gaining the most strokes with the putter; totaling only 25 putts for his round.

Pierceson Coody made his first official PGA Tour start as a pro and was fantastic. Like Bramlett, he was also bogey-free shooting four-under-par. He was great with the irons hitting 14 of 18 greens in regulation.

Round two was a different story for those four golfers with Young being the only one who didn’t lose strokes for the round. Scoring was much easier for a number of other golfers. Twenty golfers shot 66 or better in round two.

Justin Suh took the lead with a 7-under round. His short game was on display with three sand saves and a total of 25 putts for the round. Chris Kirk fired a bogey-free 62 hitting 11 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in regulation.

*All statistics are based on metrics from the first two rounds of play.

2023 Honda Classic: Round 3 DraftKings Showdown Plays

Sungjae Im ($11,000)

Sungjae might be a little lower owned after shooting over par today. He really didn’t play that badly outside of two holes. He lost 2.2 strokes putting today. Sungjae is a good putter and Bermuda is his best surface so I don’t see that happening again.

He’s 9th from tee to green through two rounds. With an 8th-place finish and a win at PGA National in two of three previous starts, I expect a good weekend from Sungjae.

Sepp Straka ($8,900)

Straka had an up-and-down first round but played well in round two. He shot a bogey-free 68 and it could’ve been better but he missed a couple of very makeable putts.

The ball striking has been there in both rounds as he’s gained 2.7 strokes from tee to green in each round so far. We’ve seen what he can do on this course and if a couple more putts fall his way, Straka will be in contention again.

Byeong Hun An ($7,800)

An is a grinder and a pure ball striker. His better finishes tend to come when he’s hitting his irons well. He’s already gained five strokes on approach and was throwing darts on Friday at the Honda Classic. He has actually been average with the putter as well which is a deadly combination for An.

He came 5th at the Honda in 2018 and gained over 3.3 strokes putting. It’s one of only eight career tournaments where he’s gained over three strokes putting. He also came 4th here in 2020.

Eric Cole ($7,400)

Cole has been great with his approach game gaining strokes in six of his last seven tournaments. That trend has continued this week as he’s gained 5.3 strokes on approach through two rounds.

Eric is also historically a very good putter but he has been average so far this week. I expect the ball striking to continue through the weekend and if the putter gets hot he’ll make a run up the leaderboard.