Cognizant Classic 2026: DFS and Betting Preview

February 25, 2026

As the PGA Tour shifts from the West Coast to Florida late into winter, one event that always tests players in unique ways is the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. Formerly known as the Honda Classic, this tournament carries a rich history and a reputation as one of the most challenging stops on the PGA Tour schedule.

Looking Back

Originally established decades ago and evolving through various sponsors and course homes, the modern iteration of this event took root at PGA National Resort’s Champion Course* in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The tournament adopted the name Honda Classic for many years before Cognizant became title sponsor in 2024 under a multi-year agreement. The event typically kicks off the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing, nestled between higher-profile tournaments — which sometimes limits the number of top-25 world ranked players in the field.

Looking back at recent winners and the beautiful volatility this event produces:

Year	Winner	Score
2025	Joe Highsmith	–19
2024	Austin Eckroat	–17
2023	Chris Kirk	–14
2022	Sepp Straka	–10
2021	Matt Jones	–12

Highlights from history include Jake Knapp’s rare sub-60 round in 2025, the 15th in PGA Tour history, emphasizing both the difficulty and scoring potential of the course on any given day.

Course Breakdown: PGA National – Champion Course

The hallmark of this event is PGA National’s Champion Course, a true test of precision golf designed by Fazio brothers and refined through later work that included input from Jack Nicklaus.

Key Stats

Ÿ  Par: 71

Ÿ  Yardage: ~7,200+ yards (2026 setup)

Ÿ  Greens: Bermuda

Ÿ  Water Hazards: In play on 15 of 18 holes

Course Characteristics

1. Water Everywhere Nearly every hole has water looming over tee shots or approaches, meaning errant shots often lead to penalty strokes.

2. The Bear Trap — 15, 16 & 17 This infamous closing stretch is among the most feared three-hole complexes on the PGA Tour. Tight fairways, punishing rough, and water frame every shot — especially when the South Florida winds pick up.

3. Winds & StrategyThe weather is going to be an issue this week. Thursday looks like a perfect golf day, but Friday-Sunday there are expected thunderstorms that will trigger wind gusts up to 20 MPH.

4. Scoring Trends Though it historically played very tough, recent course tweaks — including converting a long par-4 to a reachable par-5 — have boosted scoring, which adds variance to the leaderboard and creates upside for longer hitters and short-game talents.

The Purse

After back to back top tier events we go back to the average tier purse of $9,600,000

Our Favorite Golfers This Week (DraftKings pricing and odds)

As always we break down golfers falling into one of three categories: "Top Picks", "Fade", and "Dark Horse".

Top Picks:

Shane Lowry ($9,900 DFS; +1900 to win)

In a weak field and the odds on favorite if he doesn’t finish top 5 he messed up. With questionable weather Friday-Sunday knowing Ireland golf Lowry should do very well this week.

Keith Mitchell ($9,300 DFS; +2600 to win)

Mitchell has won here previously and also has 2 T9 finishes. With a weak field this is when he can shine.

Daniel Berger ($8,900 DFS; +3300 to win)

Berger and our next guy Koepka are in the same boat. Born in Florida, teammates at FSU, and this is considered their home course. He’s finished 2^nd in a playoff and T4 twice at this event.

Brooks Koepka ($9,000 DFS; +2900 to win)

Hasn’t played this course professionally since 2022 but same as Berger with homefield advantage. He has a 2^nd place finish here and knowing the volatile weather of Florida golf should play to his advantage.

Fade - Outside of top 15

Max Homa ($7,900 DFS; +5300 to win)

Homa's game has been shaky at best recently and hasn’t played here since 2019. We almost put him in the Dark Horse tier because he has the game and the field is weaker, but we don’t have the confidence in him right now.

Seamus Power ($7,600 DFS; +6800 to win)

Power has played this event four times. He has never made the cut.

Will Zalatoris ($8,400 DFS; +3800 to win)

Will has no professional rounds at this course and he is grinding to get back to the form he had a few years ago when he was competing in almost every major.

Dark Horse - outright winner to top 15

Garrick Higgo ($7,300 DFS; +6000 to win)

3 times Higgo has played here and made all 3 cuts with a T16 in his last. Definitely worth looking at and considered for contention on Sunday.

Joel Dahmen ($7,000 DFS; +8800 to win)

Dahmen has all the tools to be a top ranked golfer and has just never put it all together consistently enough. Every time you think he’s out he puts together a ridiculous outing that makes you believe again. This could be that event.

Beau Hossler ($6,900 DFS; +9800 to win) 

People continue to sleep on Beau because he hasn’t reached his full potential but he plays well enough here to be considered. 5 events making all 5 cuts and has a T16 finish.

Our One-and-Done Picks

Collin – Keith Mitchell

Frank – Shane Lowry

*That’s it for this week. Check back next week for our Arnold Palmer Invitational preview and follow us on our new X accounts (@FTO_picks and @FTO_fun)!

**This preview does not represent our final betting picks for this event. For our full set of picks, check out our Game Picks section!

***Odds accurate at time of posting.