The PGA Tour moves to the East Coast for the 2024 Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Formerly the Honda Classic, PGA National will host the newly named Cognizant Clasic. Honda was the longest running sponsor hosting the tournament since 1982 but the PGA overplayed their hand asking for too much money forcing Honda to reconsider.

Last year Chris Kirk defeated Eric Cole in a playoff shooting 14 under. Kirk went in the water on 18 but Cole was unable to capitalize on a birdie attempt forcing the playoff.

In 2022 Sepp Straka came away with the win going four under on his last ten holes to shoot an impressive 66 in the final round. Shane Lowry had a good showing as the runner-up. He played well shooting back-to-back 67s on the weekend but it wasn’t enough to come away with the win.

The Cognizant Classic kicks off the Florida swing. The tournament is played at the Jack Nicklaus-designed PGA National Champion Course which is a 7,147-yard par 71 with Bermuda greens. It is one of the most difficult courses on Tour.

With changes to the PGA schedule the field will be far stronger than we’ve seen in recent years. Rory Mcllroy will join 18 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings in the field.

The winds can also wreak havoc on what’s already a tough task. Even with less windy conditions last year the course played as the 10th most difficult on tour. There is water in play on 15 holes and PGA National is always towards the top with the most water balls on Tour each year. Over 6,400 balls have found the water here since 2007. There are also 60 bunkers on the course.

Holes 5-7 make up one of the most difficult stretches on Tour. As if that wasn’t enough, PGA National is home to the vaunted three-hole stretch known as the Bear Trap which consists of holes 15, 16, and 17. It often plays as the most difficult three-hole stretch on tour.

The Bear Trap starts with a 179-yard par three that generally plays into the wind with water on the right and sand traps to the left. Hole 16 is a dogleg right 434-yard par four. The entire right side has trouble with sand traps and water. The Bear Trap ends with the 175-yard par three. With a tee shot over water and very limited green to work with, this hole can make or break a round.

Hole number 10 has been played as a 500 yard par four historically and is generally one of the hardest holes on the course. This year it has been changed to a 533 yard par five which will obviously make it one of the easier holes on the course.

Approach shots matter at every course but even more so at PGA National considering all the trouble. A little over 25% of approach shots come from 175-200 yards and 23% come from 150-175 yards. GIR percentage is well below Tour average coming in at just under 60 percent.

With missed greens being so prominent, around the green matters but not as much as you’d think. Many wayward approach shots could find water or green side bunkers. Water balls will obviously put drops into play taking away any chipping opportunities. Sand saves and scrambling will be a necessity but scrambling percentage comes in at only 50 percent.

Average Driving Distance is well below average here as well coming in at only 272 yards. That’s ten yards shorter than the Tour average. Driving accuracy is also below the Tour average at 60% of fairways hit. Avoiding trouble off the tee is the preferred strategy so accuracy over distance is optimal.

The field consists of 144 golfers with the Top 65 and ties making the cut after 36 holes to play the weekend.

The Cognizant Classic: Key Stats and Figures

• Strokes Gained Approach
• Par 4 Scoring
• Bogey Avoidance
• Scrambling/Sand Saves

Historic Cut Line

• 2023: +2
• 2022: +3
• 2021: +2
• 2020: +4
• 2019: +3

Previous Winners

2023: Chris Kirk-14
2022: Sepp Straka -10
2021: Matt Jones -12
2020: Sungjae Im -6
2019: Keith Mitchell -9