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2013 PGA Humana Challenge Preview | Picks

PGA Betting – Humana Challenge Preview & Pick

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2013 Humana Challenge
Location: Indian Wells, California, United States
Course: Classic Club, PGA West – Palmer Private, LaQuinta, Silver Rock
Date: Jan 17-20, 2013
Total Purse: US $ 5,600,000
Winner’s Share: US $ 1,008,000 (18% of total purse)

Defending Champion: Mark Wilson ($1,008,000)

The PGA TOUR moves to the mainland this week for the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Bill Clinton Foundation, formerly the Bob Hope Classic. The tournament is played on three different courses throughout the week with PGA West being used twice including the final round Sunday.

The three courses in the desert have played among the easiest Par 72s on TOUR the past couple of years and the weather is forecast to be absolutely perfect for the Pros. Expect the winner to go low this week as we have seen in the past at this very event.

Here is a look at some names to keep an eye on this week and what should play out from Thursday to Sunday.

The Favorites:

Brandt Snedeker 14/1

Sneds took last week off after starting the season with a solo 3rd in the Hyundai and he does have a very good history in this event – top 10s in his last two appearances. The defending FedEx Cup Champ has all the tools to thrive on these shortish courses – putting and iron play are the strength of Snedeker’s game – he was tops on TOUR in strokes gained putting last year.

Matt Kuchar 14/1

Kuchar is another player with a strong short game as demonstrated by a nice T5 finish last week at Waialea. He has four straight top 25s in this event including a T2 here in 2012 and he has finished top 10 in both of his starts in 2013. Kuchar is playing as well as anyone in the field and cannot be ignored.

Tim Clark 14/1

Has been terrific in the past in this event – two T2s and two T5s and he is coming off a good showing at Waialea where he finished a solo second. His short game is the envy of almost everyone on TOUR – a perfect fit for this track. Clark’s injury issues are in the past – he should challenge this week.

Phil Mickleson 14/1

Phil makes his return this week – you never know which Phil is going to show up! He is a two-time champion at this event (2002, 2004) and the all-time money leader. He concluded 2012 playing some of the best golf of his career culminating with a very good Ryder Cup run. If he can find his form, Lefty could be dangerous.

The Contenders:

Webb Simpson 18/1

Quietly finished T20 at Waialea but hasn’t exactly been on top of his game yet this season. He was T13 here in 2011 and T5 in 2009. We all know he will break out sometime – it’s just a matter of when. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

Charles Howell III 20/1

Made a run last week on one of his favorite courses. Howell III will win this year – just not sure it’s here.

Bo Van Pelt 20/1

Was mighty impressive toward the end of 2012 with five straight Top 10s including a win, a T2 and a third place finish and now he gets to play an event he has had success at in the past – a T5 in 2008. Van Pelt is as hot a golfer as there is in the field although his success was months ago.

Robert Garrigus 22/1

The Humana marks Garrigus’s first event of 2013 but he enters as the defending runner-up in this event when he carded 30 birdies and sunk an eagle along the way. Don’t sleep on Garrigus who ranked first in all-around in this tournament last year.

Zach Johnson 28/1

Finished T8 last here but is coming off his first cut missed in his last 13 events. He played well here last year but enters this year not in the best form.

John Senden 40/1

Is another golfer with a good history here – 10 cuts in 11 appearances with four top 10s including a T6 here last year. He was OK last week finishing T26 in the Sony where he was under par in every round. Senden is solid and could surprise this week.

Russell Henley 40/1

The rookie had himself quite a week last week didn’t he? He hit 60 greens in regulation and led the field in both strokes gained-putting and total birdies. His putter was magical last week which will certainly help him here.

The Sleepers:

Chris Kirk 50/1

Finished T5 last week where he sunk three eagles and ranked ninth in strokes gained-putting. He was T7 in this event in 2011 and was in contention last year before falling off the pace. He thrives on the easier courses for some reason – the Humana happens to be one of the easiest stops on TOUR.

Harris English 50/1

Came on last week to finish T9 on the heels of a 62 on Saturday. He finished T19 in his only appearance in this event and will be looking to better that result this week. He is a terrific ball striker (he finished 21st in driving distance in 2012 on the PGA TOUR) but his putter is still the big question mark.

Pat Perez 50/1

Had his only career victory in this event back in 2009 and finished T14 last year after a final round 63. He has already shown decent form this year finishing T9 last week and has only missed the cut once here in eight tries.

Josh Teater 80/1

Finished T15 last week and has a streak of seven top 25s in his last 10 events played. He finished 22nd here last year but his all around game has improved immensely, making him a minor threat this week.

The Pick:

The pick this week is Brandt Snedeker at 14/1. It’s not too far out of the box but a look at what he’s done and an analysis of what is needed at the Humana reveals the fact that Sneds is the obvious choice. Tim Clark is not far behind!

My sleeper is Pat Perez at 50/1. He has played well this year so far and he does have a good history on this track.

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By DaveB

Dave B has been a Fantasy Football writer for us for 10 years. A couch potato wannabe, Dave’s insights have been read by 10’s of people for years. He hope’s for world peace + global relaxation. Enjoy and remember only smoke things that are completely natural.