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 recently 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 Austin Eckroat won by three strokes over Min Woo Lee shooting 17 under. The course played as bit easier than we’ve seen in the past.

In 2023, 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. Cole’s birdie attempt lipped out in the playoff with Kirk making his tap in and winning for the first time in eight years.

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 field has generally been weak due to combination of timing in the schedule matched with the difficulty of the course. But some scheduling changes have made the fields slightly stronger in recent years. There are 16 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings in the field this week.

The tournament is played at the Jack Nicklaus-designed PGA National Champion Course which is a 7,167-yard par 71 with Bermuda greens. It is one of the most difficult courses on Tour.

The winds can also wreak havoc on what’s already a tough task. Even with less windy conditions the course generally plays as one of 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. Nearly 6,500 balls have found the water here since 2007. There are also 60 sand bunkers on the course.

There are 11 par fours, 4 par threes and 3 par fives. There are three par fours ranging from 350-400 yards, four from 400-450 and four from 450-500 yards. The par fives range from 530 to 556 yards and play as the easiest holes on the course. The par threes play as four of the five hardest holes 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 also 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. There is water up the whole right side and bunkers up the left. 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. It was changed to a 533 yard par five which has made it the easiest hole on the course with a 67% birdie rate.

Avoiding trouble off the tee is the preferred strategy and accuracy over distance is optimal. Average Driving Distance is well below average here as well coming in at only 276 yards. That’s ten yards shorter than the Tour average. Driving accuracy has historically been below the Tour average with 60% of fairways hit. Last year that was slightly higher with 64% of tee shots finding the fairway. Avoiding water and sand off the tee is key.

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. Greens in Regulation percentage is below Tour average coming in at just under 60 percent.

With missed greens being so prominent, around the green play 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 is difficult around the Champion Course.

Overall the preferred skillset is accurate golfers who can avoid big numbers.

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
• Fairways Gained
• Scrambling/Sand Saves

Historic Cut Line

• 2024: -1
• 2023: +2
• 2022: +3
• 2021: +2
• 2020: +4

Previous Winners

2024: Austin Eckroat -17
2023: Chris Kirk -14
2022: Sepp Straka -10
2021: Matt Jones -12
2020: Sungjae Im -6

Golfers to Consider

* all statistics provided are prior to the conclusion of the Mexico Open

Shane Lowry

Lowry has historically played very well at PGA National. In his last three appearances he’s finished 4th, 5th and 2nd. He’s been impressive with his irons in those years gaining 6.3, 5.1 and 6.8 strokes on approach. Lowry has never missed the cut here in seven appearances which is an impressive feat considering all the trouble.

It’s been a mixed bag to start 2025. Lowry missed the cut at the Farmers then came 2nd at Pebble Beach. He then finished 39th at the Waste Management. Dating back to last year, Lowry has gained strokes on approach in eight of hisblast ten tournaments.

Sepp Straka

Sepp missed the cut last year here but played very well his previous two times. He won in 2022 gaining 9.2 strokes tee to green and came 5th in 2023 gaining just under eight strokes on approach. He has gained strokes on approach in five of his six appearances at PGA National.

Last time out Sepp missed the cut at the Genesis but has played very well prior to that. He came 15th at the Waste Management gaining 5.7 strokes on approach. He came 7th at Pebble Beach gaining 10 strokes tee to green and he won the AMEX at 25 under. Prior to the Waste Management Straka had gained strokes on approach in seven straight tournaments. He’s 5th in strokes gained approach over the last 24 rounds.

Russell Henley

Henley has had success at PGA National winning the Honda Classic back in 2014. He came 41st last year in his first appearance here since 2021 but had previously finished 3rd and 8th in 2021 and 2020. He’s only missed the cut once in ten appearances. Bermuda greens are also his best putting surface.

Henley came 39th most recently at the Genesis. He previously finished 5th at Pebble Beach and 10th at the Sony. Over the last 50 rounds he’s 3rd in fairways gained, 9th in bogey avoidance and 12th on approach.

Andrew Novak

Novak finished 9th last year at the Cognizant gaining strokes in all strokes gained metrics. 2025 has been interesting for Novak with three missed cuts, a 3rd place finish at the Farmers and two 13th place finishes at Pebble and the Genesis.

Over the last 50 rounds Novak is 1st in bogey avoidance, 2nd from 150-175 yards and 13th on approach.

Sam Ryder

Ryder has played well at PGA National over the last five years making the cut four times and finishing in the top ten twice. Bermuda is by far his best putting surface and he’s gained over four strokes putting twice here.

Ryder hasn’t exactly contended for a win in 2025 but has made the cut in all four of his appearances. He’s also gained strokes on approach in all of them. Over the last 24 Ryder is 10th in sand saves, 16th in bogey avoidance and 21st on approach. I wouldn’t bet him outright but a top 30 or a DFS play seem very plausible.