Cognizant Classic at the Palm Beaches
Champion Cours at PGA National
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
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NOW PLAYING:
| Host Course | The Champion Course |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,223 (new 2026) |
| Par: | 71 (35-36). |
| Greens: | TifEagle Bermuda; 7,000 square feet. |
| Stimpmeter: | 12 feet. |
| Rough: | Overseeded ryegrass at 3 iinches. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | 60/20/15 |
| Architect(s): | George Fazio (1981); Jack Nicklaus (2002, 2014 redesign; 2018). |
| Defending Champion (event): | Joe Highsmith (-19) |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | Zero in 19 events at this course. |
| Course Record: | 59; Jake Knapp (not entered), Round 1, 2025. |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record | 19-under (265). |
| Fact of the Week: | 5 of the last 7 champions are first-time winners on TOUR. |
| Fact of the Week II: | The tournament scoring record has been broken in three consecutive events (2023-2025). |
The biggest defenses of the course are the Florida breeze and water penalty areas, seemingly everywhere. Better be able to shape and control the golf ball.
Big greens, when found, get more difficult the closer to the hole, a la Jack Nicklaus designs.
Jack Nicklaus is the only player to win this event in consecutive seasons on the same course (1977, 1978).
Nobody has won twice since moving to The Champion Course (20th edition 2026).
Notes:
- Field of 123.
- The cut will be made after 36 holes. The top 65 and ties play the weekend.
- The OWGR is represented by 6 of the top 50.
- $9.6 million – $1.728 million – 500 FedExCup points
2026 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | No Event |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Chris Gotterup |
| The American Express | Scottie Scheffler |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Justin Rose |
| WM Phoenix Open | Chris Gotterup (2) |
| The Genesis Invitational | Jacob Bridgeman (first time winner) |
- 2025 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Nick Taylor |
| The American Express | Sepp Straka |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Harris English |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Rory McIlroy |
| WM Phoenix Open | Thomas Detry (LIV) |
| The Genesis Invitational | Ludvig Aberg |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Brian Campbell (first time) |
| Cognizant Classic | Joe Highsmith (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Russell Henley |
| Puerto Rico Open | Karl Vilips (first time) |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Rory McIlroy |
| Valspar Championship | Viktor Hovland |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Min Woo Lee (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Brian Harman |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Rory McIlroy (career grand slam) |
| RBC Heritage | Justin Thomas |
| Zurich Classic | Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak (first time winners) |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Scottie Scheffler |
| Truist Championship | Sepp Straka (2) |
| Mrytle Beach One Flight | Ryan Fox |
| 106th PGA Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Ben Griffin (2) |
| The 50th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Canadian Open | Ryan Fox (2) |
| 124th United States Open | J.J. Spaun |
| Travelers Championship | Keegan Bradley |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Aldrich Potgieter (first time) |
| John Deere Classic | Brian Campbell (2) |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Chris Gotterup |
| ISCO Championship | William Mouw (first time) |
| 152nd Open Championship | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Barracuda Championship | Ryan Gerard (first time) |
| 3M Open | Kurt Kitayama |
| Wyndham Championship | Cameron Young (first time) |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Justin Rose |
| BMW Championship | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| The TOUR Championship | Tommy Fleetwood (first time) |
| FedEx Cup Fall | |
| Procore Championship | Scottie Scheffler (6) |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Steven Fisk (first time) |
| Black Desert Championship | Michael Brennan (first time) |
| Baycurrent Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| World Wide Technology Champ | Ben Griffin (3) |
| Butterfield Bermuda Champ | Adam Schenk (first time) |
| The RSM Classic | Sami Valimaki (first time) |
Recent Winners – Cognizant Classic
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2025 | Joe Highsmith (-19) | Set the tournament scoring record to win for the first time on TOUR. |
| 2024 | Austin Eckroat (-17) | Making his second start, he set the new scoring standard on the NEW Par-71 track. Won by 3 and became the fourth first-time winner in six events. |
| 2023 | Chris Kirk (-14) | Needed an extra hole to defeat Eric Cole and produced the lowest winning total in the final season of the Par-70 layout. |
| 2022 | Sepp Straka (-10) | Outlasted Shane Lowry, Kurt Kitayama, and Daniel Berger in a deluge late on Sunday to win for the first time on TOUR. |
| 2021 | Matt Jones (-12) | Won by five in the big breezes. |
| 2020 | Sungjae Im (-6) | Became the youngest winner (21 yrs) and won for the first time on TOUR. |
| 2019 | Keith Mitchell (-9) | Held off Rickie Fowler by a shot to add his name to the list of four UGA Bulldog winners since 2014. |
One and Done – Spotter’s Game
1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy get kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).
1 use per year.
| Event | Selection | Place | Earnings |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Robert MacIntyre | T4 | 409,500 |
| The American Express | Ben Griffin | T24 | 81,420 |
| Farmers Insurance | Jason Day | T38 | 41,760 |
| WM Phoenix Open | Sahith Theegala | T18 | 122,720 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Patrick Cantlay | T14 | 342,500 |
| The Genesis Invitational | Tommy Fleetwood | T7 | 603,200 |
This Week – Cognizant Classic at the Palm Beaches
MY CHOICE: Daniel Berger
A late entry after missing the cut at Riviera, the hometown lad knows this place inside and out. In a limited field, I will ride familiarity and #FloridaMan.
Just Missed
Shane Lowry, Michael Thorbjornsen, Luke Clanton, and any players from Denmark.
Glass Houses 