Honda Classic Tips: Bradley has conditions to suit at PGA National

Dave Tindall
24 February 2015

Dave fancies Keegan Bradley to go well at PGA National

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Dave Tindall brings us his each-way tips for the PGA Tour's opening event of the Florida Swing - the Honda Classic at PGA National...

Nap: Back Keegan Bradley @ 26.025/1

"The 28-year-old heads to the Honda on the back of a T4 in last week's Northern Trust Open at Riviera. Again, that event was won with single digits under par (-6) so to see Bradley's name popping up on the leaderboard was no surprise."

Each-way terms: ¼ odds, 5 places

Nap: Back Keegan Bradley @ 26.025/1

Having captured two of his PGA Tour titles with scores of -3 (HP Byron Nelson Championship) and -8 (US PGA Championship), it's fair to say that Bradley thrives in tough conditions.

So given that six of the last eight editions of the Honda Classic have been won in single digits under par, Bradley would appear to be an ideal fit for the par 70 at PGA National.

Take a look at his course form and the theory stands up; the American has played in this event four times and has a fourth (2013), and a pair of T12s (2012 and 2013) in his last three appearances.

Bradley, who lives just 30 minutes from PGA National, said in 2013: "I love the golf course because of the way you have to drive the ball. You must drive it well. The greens are perfect. And you know, you have to kind of assume that there's going to be some wind, and playing down here in Jupiter, I'm in it every day."

For the record, it's expected to be gusty this week so he'll feel right in his comfort zone.

The 28-year-old heads to the Honda on the back of a T4 in last week's Northern Trust Open at Riviera. Again, that event was won with single digits under par (-6) so to see Bradley's name popping up on the leaderboard was no surprise.

He was fourth in Greens in Regulation with new irons in the bag at Riviera so that has to count as another big plus given that he's ranked only 129th in GIR on the season-long stats. Clearly, he got a tune out of his new Srixons on first play.

The obvious negative is that he's still coming to terms with a conventional putter. Having said that, Bradley is a respectable 90th in Strokes Gained: Putting this year while this is hardly going to be a putting contest.

Next Best: Back Graham Delaet @ 51.050/1

I'm very tempted by Graeme McDowell at 33/1 and Harris English at 40/1 but, at the prices, Canadian Graham DeLaet gets the nod. Normally a player who is quick to revert to 33/1 as soon as he shows some form, it's a welcome surprise to see him put in at 50/1 here.

DeLaet is coming off an eighth place in last week's Northern Trust Open while two starts before that he was seventh in the Phoenix. Let's not dismiss his T57 at Pebble either given that he shot middle rounds of 65-64. In short, he's in great form and looks ready to secure that elusive first win or at least have another strong crack at it.

He started last week's Northern Trust in the final group and grinded it out pretty well after getting off to such a poor start on Sunday.

With young players and, any golfer, to be honest, the best medicine after a setback like that is to get in the mix the very next week. Past evidence suggests DeLaet can do just that. Last year he had back-to-back second places at Torrey Pines and Scottsdale while in 2013 he went 2-3 in the first two FedEx play-off events - Barclays and Deutsche Bank.

This looks a good venue for him to continue his good play as he was tied ninth last year after sitting second after round one and third at halfway.

PGA National requires a complete game and in his two recent top 10s DeLaet was ranked third in the All-Around stats. He's 12th in that category on the season-long stats while his 5th place in Total Driving also bodes well.

Outsider: Back Zac Blair @ 301.0300/1

In my Pebble Beach preview, I wrote that I was considering Zac Blair for my longshot at 100/1. I'm glad I swerved him as the youngster missed the cut despite decent enough rounds of 70-71-70.

He also slammed the trunk early after going 77-70 in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera last week but breaking par in round two in a tournament won with six-under was encouraging.

His assessment of that little dip (via Twitter) was: "Rough couple of weeks. Gotta mature a little. I'll get it going soon!"

Well, how about this week. Before his pair of halfway exits, Blair was T11 in the Farmers Insurance Open and, two starts before that, T6 in the Sony Open. Those are real confidence boosters for a young kid in his rookie season.

Another big plus is that in his only previous start in Florida, the 24-year-old finished runner-up in the Web.com Tour Championship. One interesting note about that performance... it came on the back of three missed cuts so we have evidence that he can suddenly turn his fortunes around.

It's a big ask for him this week given the calibre of opposition but, given some of the shocks we've had in this event, he has enough in his favour to justify a punt at the massive 300/1.

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