Honda Classic preview: What to know for the 1st Florida stop of 2022

The PGA TOUR swings into Florida this week to kick off the Honda Classic at the challenging PGA National Champion course.

After five weeks out West split between California and Arizona - which saw three first-time winners on TOUR and Joaquin Niemann's exciting second win at the Tiger Woods-hosted Genesis Invitational - the Honda Classic marks the first of four events played in the Sunshine State

When: February 24-27
Where: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

How to watch

Last year's result

Matt Jones' record-tying 18-hole score of 61 during the first round of last year's event ultimately sealed the deal for the Australian golfer, who went on to win the tournament by 5 strokes, shooting all four rounds at even par or better.

Brandon Hagy finished alone in second at 7-under, while Chase Seiffert, Brendan Steele, Denny McCarthy, Russell Henley, and C.T. Pan all tied for third at 6-under.

Previous winners

2021: Matt Jones (-12) over Brandon Hagy
2020: Sungjae Im (-6) over Mackenzie Hughes
2019: Keith Mitchell (-9) over Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka
2018: Justin Thomas (-8) in a playoff over Luke List
2017: Rickie Fowler (-12) over Gary Woodland, Morgan Hoffmann
2016: Adam Scott (-9) over Sergio Garcia
2015: Padraig Harrington (-6) in a playoff over Daniel Berger
2014: Russell Henley (-8) in a playoff over three players

The field

Niemann is coming fresh off his second PGA TOUR win at the Genesis Invitational last week, as Jones and Sungjae Im, the event's most recent winners, both search for win No. 3 on TOUR.

Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka and fellow Florida-born golfer Daniel Berger will also join the field.

Tommy Fleetwood, who finished third at the event in 2020, is still looking for win No. 1 on the PGA TOUR, and many other top European players will make their 2022 TOUR debut this week, including Ian Poulter and Shane Lowry.

Featured/marquee groups (all times ET)

Group: Joaquin Niemann, Brooks Koepka, Mackenzie Hughes
Thursday - 7:56 a.m. (No. 10 tee)
Friday - 12:51 p.m.

Group: Rickie Fowler, Matthew Wolff, Keith Mitchell
Thursday - 12:51 p.m.
Friday - 7:56 a.m. (No. 10 tee)

Group: Billy Horschel, Cameron Young, Patrick Reed
Thursday - 7:45 a.m. (No. 10 tee)
Friday - 12:40 p.m.

Group: Tommy Fleetwood, Harry Higgs, Patrick Rodgers
Thursday - 8:07 a.m. (No. 10 tee)
Friday - 1:02 p.m.

Group: Lucas Herbert, Sungjae Im, Louis Oosthuizen
Thursday - 12:29 p.m.
Friday - 7:34 a.m. (No. 10 tee)

Group: Matt Jones, Daniel Berger, Gary Woodland
Thursday - 12:40 p.m.
Friday - 7:45 a.m. (No. 10 tee)

The course

The TOUR heads to PGA National to play the Champion course, which regularly hosts the event. The 7,125-yard par-70 - which Tom and George Fazio designed and Jack Nicklaus later redesigned - has housed relatively higher scores than other TOUR stops lately, with a 12-under 268 being the lowest seen in recent years.

These high scores are partially due to the difficulty of holes Nos. 15-17, which together make what is known as "The Bear Trap" - Nicklaus' design.

Betting corner

Sungjae Im +1,000
Daniel Berger +1,600
Billy Horschel +1,800
Joaquin Niemann +1,800
Louis Oosthuizen +1,800
Brooks Koepka +2,000
Shane Lowry +2,200
Tommy Fleetwood +2,200
Alex Noren +3,000
Keith Mitchell +3,000
Brian Harman +3,500
Matthew Wolff +3,500
Aaron Wise +4,000
Jhonattan Vegas +4,000
Matt Jones +4,000
Cameron Young +4,500
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +4,500
Mito Pereira +4,500

Odds courtesy of theScore Bet.