Author: Matt Fargo - Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Honda Classic

The Country Club at Mirasol, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

It's time to start getting serious. The west coast swing is long gone and the Florida swing continues this week with the Honda Classic as the countdown is on. Not the countdown to The Masters, but the countdown to The Players Championship which is in two weeks. The fifth major as it is called is one that a lot of players treasure just like a major because it is after all, for the players. Players are now gearing up for that whether it is resting or getting their games on the right track and that starts at the Honda.

This isn't exactly a superstar field on hand this week but there are some big names in what should be yet another exciting finish. The past winners have been a mix of veterans and first timers and some never to be heard from again. One that we will hear about again is Padraig Harrington. He will be looking to defend his 2005 Honda title which happened to be his first ever tour victory in the US. Harrington has started strong, making it to the quarters of the Accenture while finishing 26th last week at the Ford.

Davis Love III, with 29 career runner-up finishes, has twice finished second at the Honda and in back-to-back years no less in 2003 and 2004. He has never missed a cut here and he has five top five finishes in his 11 career starts. Don't let his finish last year mean much since he is playing some very good golf right now. He lost to Geoff Ogilvy in the final match at the Accenture match play two weeks ago and finished 12th at the Ford last week.

Ogilvy comes into the Honda with a with strong history, which includes four top-15 finishes in five appearances, including second in 2001 and tied for sixth last year. He is hot after winning the Accenture two weeks back. Over the last 10 years, Jim Furyk, who is not in the field this week, has the best overall scoring average of 68.45 but a not too distant second is Ogilvy and his 68.85 average. Those are the only sub-69 averages so Ogilvy clearly has some momentum.

David Toms made two mistakes on the final two holes at the Ford last Sunday that could have cost him the title. He eased up on a birdie putt on 17, coming up just short and instead of lagging his 100-footer on 18, he flew it eight feet past and made bogey. He has never won in Florida and maybe he's cursed, who knows. What I do know though is he is hot and eleven of his last 12 rounds have been below par with 10 of those being in the 60s.

Fred Couples won this event in 1993 and with the way he is playing he cannot be discounted. After that victory, he took eight years off from the Honda and his last three starts have all resulted in top 25 finishes. This season, he has been in the hunt of all three of his stroke play events with two top 25 finishes including a 4th place finish at the Nissan. A third round 80 knocked his out of the Buick where he was looking good heading into the weekend.

If you are looking for one darkhorse, look no further than Brad Faxon. He has played in this event 18 times and while his first 13 starts resulted in only one top 20 finish, he has been in the thick of things since then. His last five starts have ended with four top 20's including three top 10's. He finished 6th last year which followed up an 8th place finish in 2004. He missed the cut last week at the Ford but he has two top 25 finishes to his credit already in 2006.

Don't miss out on Matt Fargo's PREMIUM basketball picks. Fargo is the hardest working 'capper in the business, and his dedication will make you a profit! Fargo's selections for today are right here on Mycapper.com!

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