At a match ripe for a breakthrough second, Justin Suh is seizing the chance. The reigning Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year leads on the 2023 Honda Classic at 10 below, one stroke forward of veteran Chris Kirk and two clear of Ben Taylor and Ryan Gerard as second-round play was suspended Friday night on account of darkness.
Suh isn’t any stranger to coming into the winner’s circle on the skilled stage; he claimed the title on the Korn Ferry Tour Championship this previous September. While the strain of securing one’s card on the PGA Tour is tantamount to really profitable on the PGA Tour, it should nonetheless be attention-grabbing to see how the rookie handles the warmth round PGA National over the weekend.
In his rearview mirror are a quantity of PGA Tour winners together with main champions Zach Johnson and Shane Lowry. Meanwhile, Dylan Frittelli, Byeong Hun An, Chesson Hadley and Adam Svensson took benefit of the calm situations to play themselves again into this match after sluggish opening rounds.Â
Then there may be 21-year-old Akshay Bhatia. The former prodigy turned skilled sits solely six strokes off the tempo of Suh and arrives having received on the Korn Ferry Tour simply over a 12 months in the past.
The chief
1. Justin Suh (-10)
The Class of 2019 was one of the higher ones to achieve the PGA Tour in current reminiscence. Featuring Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff, a “big four” of kinds was anticipated with the inclusion of Suh. The USC product noticed his friends win nearly instantly on the PGA Tour, contend and win main championships and rise inside the highest 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings. Meanwhile, Suh battled accidents and dips in kind however seems effectively on his technique to rejoining his counterparts close to the highest of the ranks.
“It’s kind of reassuring every time because for me, I think it’s — I never really let it get to me,” mentioned Suh. “Obviously they [Morikawa, Hovland, Wolff] had immediate success, and it was cool watching them play so great. But for me, I knew I needed to improve. I think for me, I just kept my head down and worked on my game. Everyone is on a different path, and I think — I think all I’m focused on is just improving on a daily basis. That’s kind of all I’m focused on.”
Other contenders
2. Chris Kirk (-9)
T3. Ben Taylor, Ryan Gerard (-8)
T5. Brice Garnett, Ben Martin, Eric Cole (-7)
T8. Tyler Duncan, Tano Goya (-6)
T10. Byeong Hun An, Zach Johnson, Matt Wallace, Carson Young, Adam Schenk, Chesson Hadley (-5)
This is about as eclectic a bunch you might ask for. Major champions, PGA Tour winners, journeymen, Monday qualifiers — this lot has one thing for everybody. Kirk is the participant to flash essentially the most critical kind in the start phases of 2023 as he practically got here by on the Sony Open and contended as soon as once more every week later at The American Express. His 8-under 62 in Round 2 is presently good for the spherical of the match. He possesses essentially the most expertise — outdoors Johnson — however is aware of the group of young expertise in the combination is to not be trifled with.
“I try to do my best to introduce myself to as many of the rookies as I get a chance to when they get out here, but anybody that makes it to the PGA Tour is an unbelievable player,” mentioned Kirk. “There’s no doubt about that. Anybody that gets on to the Korn Ferry Tour is an unbelievable player. Yeah, I definitely am not doubting any of the young talent coming out here. It’s a lot of really good young guys that hit it a lot further than me and are playing with a lot of confidence. I think you’ll continue to see that week after week.”
Monday qualifier to PGA Tour winner?
Casual golf followers could wish to get used to the title Ryan Gerard. Just 9 months faraway from competing in the NCAA Championship, the UNC product has shot out the gates of his skilled profession. Winning on PGA Tour Canada and capturing a pair of top-five finishes, the 23-year-old was granted a spot in the ultimate stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School the place he went onto earn eight assured begins.Â
Now, after a T3 end on the Astara Golf Championship and having Monday certified into the Honda Classic, he appears to be like to proceed this torrid stretch. Gerard could not have full-time standing on the PGA Tour but, however it’s certainly coming quickly — even perhaps this weekend ought to he win.
“I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else,” mentioned Gerard. “This is my dream ever since I was a little kid, just playing PGA Tour events. I’m still on the road there, not officially made it yet, but I just really enjoy playing golf. I love everything about it. I love the competition. I love challenging myself. I love playing against the best players and seeing how I stack up. I think that in and of itself is fun for me, but I had some friends get to come out here today just because I live right down the road, and it’s been really cool to see kind of everyone embrace it and see that I can compete at this level and that my game is good enough to translate. I’m excited, pretty confident in how I’ve been playing, and would like to keep it going, but I just love being out here. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”
2023 Honda Classic up to date odds and picks
Odds through Caesars Sportsbook
- Justin Suh: 16/5
- Chris Kirk: 33/10
- Ben Taylor: 10-1
- Ben Martin: 16-1
- Shane Lowry: 20-1
- Ryan Gerard: 25-1
- Byeong Hun An: 28-1
- Brice Garnett: 28-1
- Tyler Duncan: 30-1
- Adam Svensson: 30-1
The play appears to be Kirk, however given his incapability to shut in current years and the difficulty lurking at PGA National, it might be smart to assemble a couple of longshots. Defending champion Sepp Straka strikes some curiosity. The Austrian is listed at 100-1 and sits at 3 below whereas rating tenth in strokes gained tee to inexperienced. He has but to get the putter going, however has confirmed to be succesful from a weekend chasing position earlier than.Â