Cognizant Classic Preview: Picks, Key Stats & Players to Watch

The PGA Tour finds itself in a weird sandwich spot this week – with the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches kicking off the Florida golf swing. We saw a number on WD’s early in the week with multiple signature events on the horizon presenting us with an interesting betting board and relatively weak field. 

 

PGA National (The Champion) 

 

Par: 71

Yardage: 7,223

Greens: Bermuda

 

Key Stats 

 

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
• Strokes Gained: Approach – proximity 150-200 yards
• Strokes Gained: Around the Green
• Birdie Rate

There are two main notes for this tournament in my opinion. One is to be mindful of the switch from poa greens to bermuda while the other is how scoreable this track has become for a lot of these guys. There’s tons of water in play, but these guys have had no issues carving it up in recent seasons and it’s becoming increasingly more weighted towards distance for me than in the past. 

 

Michael Thorbjornsen

 

If I had to pick one guy on Tour that I thought was closest to his first PGA win right now, it might be Thor. He was primed for a big year coming into the season and he’s played well already in 2026. He had the lead at the Phoenix Open heading to the 16th tee and ended up falling short, but he remains close to that elusive first victory. TPC Scottsdale is a relatively solid comp course to PGA National and he’s my overall pick to win this week. 

 

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen

 

Most casual golf fans might not be super familiar with Neergaard-Peterson, but I can assure you they will soon. Not only is he one of the best iron players in this field but he is one of the longest players on the PGA Tour. He’s had a few weeks off to prepare for Florida golf and while he hasn’t had any big finishes yet this season he also has not missed a cut. He’s been very good on the World Tour over the last six months and I could see a breakthrough on the PGA Tour happening at an event like this. I want to invest early on RNP and this is the first time he makes the cut for me in 2026. 

 

Johnny Keefer

 

I wrote up Keefer as a dark horse a few weeks ago and I’m going right back to the well with him in this more open field. He’s long off the tee and comps very well for me this week in almost every stat category I have as important. Like RNP, he’s been making cuts but hasn’t found himself truly in the mix yet but the ball striking has been fantastic. He just needs to putt well to be in contention and that might be a bit easier for him on these greens.