RADIO
I am fired up for the former Honda Classic, now named the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches, which is being held at PGA National next week. I'm biased since it's my hometown event. I am thrilled to have boots on the ground all week at PGA National and looking forward to watching the best field that we have seen in several years take on the Champion Course and infamous Bear Trap. Let there be carnage!!
In this article, you will find my TourPicks Top 10 Power Rankings for the Cognizant Classic, which provides a first look at the players who I believe are primed to make a significant impact and play well next week. It should come as no surprise that many of the players listed below are favorites next week, but I put some serious thought into who I believe the course and event set up best for based on stats, course history, and of course motivational narratives.
I hope that these rankings will become a staple in your weekly preparation and the place where you start your research for the week. I have carefully evaluated each player in the field to project course fits and expected results in an attempt to give you a glimpse at how my brain operates when it comes to handicapping professional golf. In addition to my Top 10 rankings, I will provide a brief summary for each player to give some reasoning behind their rankings. As always, thank you for your support, and good luck.
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#10. Sepp Straka
PGA National will be a welcome sight for big Sepp Straka as the 2022 champion returns to take on the Champion Course where he has seemingly figured the course out. Last year, playing as defending champion, Straka finished T5 and actually had a better ball-striking week than the year prior when he hoisted the trophy.
The slick Bermuda grass and ultra-grainy greens should be a solid boost for Straka, who played reasonably well on the West Coast but got crushed on the pesky poa greens in California. Straka will arrive this week with plenty of confidence and has some of the most consistent form over the years at the PGA of any player in the field. Straka should have decent odds in the meat and potatoes range of the oddsboard, unlike when he hit here at 125-1!
Straka fortunate in timing of 18th tee shot, but he got his first PGA Tour win by playing the final five holes at PGA National in 3-3-3-3-4, and it was pissing it down when he had to stand over the biggest shot of his life. Massively impressive for all that’s a bit hard on Lowry.
— Ben Coley (@BenColeyGolf) February 27, 2022
#9. J.T. Poston
J.T. Poston has played in this event for the last five years consecutively with mixed results, and his best finish came in 2020 with a T35. That said, I am less concerned because he's never arrived in Palm Beach with such a consistent long-term run of form as he is coming into the tournament with this season.
Poston was extremely chalky and popular at the WM Phoenix Open before burning anyone who bet him with his first missed cut in his last 15 events. I was encouraged to see him bounce back with a T10 at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, which probably is not the best fit for a player like Poston. PGA National has certainly rewarded great Bermuda grass putters before, and Poston's ability to flash brilliance with the flat stick and around the greens on tight lies will serve him well.
#8. Byeong Hun An
PGA National has a way of frustrating players and getting into their heads before they even tee off. Some players like it here, and some hate it. Byeong Hun An is one of those guys who likes it here, and he has had a great deal of success with two separate top-five finishes in his previous five starts during its run as the Honda Classic.
He's also playing really well this season. He probably should have won the Sony Open, a good comp-course for PGA National in my opinion and he finished in solo fourth place at the Sentry in the week prior. An was able to gain over +7 strokes Tee To Green in his last tournament at the Genesis Invitational a few weeks ago, a start that should certainly generate some additional confidence heading into this week.
#7. Eric Cole
Believe it or not, Eric Cole did not play in the Mexico Open. A much-deserved week off for some rest may be just what the doctor ordered for Cole, who spent his early 2024 season on the grind. He managed to finish inside the top 10 at the Genesis and now heads back to the course where he first busted onto the scenes last season...PGA National!
Cole essentially came off the minor league circuit in South Florida and nearly won the Honda Classic last season, his best result as a professional player. It's a golf course where he can certainly leverage his excellent mid-to-long iron play and lean on his putter, which is typically much more at ease on these Florida greens. For the middle-aged Cole who beat the odds and won Rookie of the Year, it'll be nice to see him back in the Bear Trap! Last year was nothing short of life-changing!
A life-changing week for Eric Cole at The Honda Classic. pic.twitter.com/34fNoBPSWi
— Golf Channel (@golfchannelhd) February 27, 2023
#6. Sungjae Im
For a player known as one of the best ball strikers on the planet a few years ago, there is no doubt Sungjae Im has been struggling with the strength of his game lately. Im has lost strokes on approach in five consecutive tournaments, the longest such stretch-run of bad iron play in his career.
I still don't believe we are too far removed from a tremendous start to his year where he managed to shoot a combined -44 under par in his first two events of 2024. Of course, PGA National is where Im broke through with his first victory in 2020. At that time, we all would have thought that Im would go on to win multiple events over the next four years, which just didn't happen, amassing only a victory at the Shriners in 2021. He's one of the most talented players in the field and is eagerly hoping to rekindle some magic at PGA National.
#5. Corey Conners
Corey Conners is a player who has only elected to play PGA National twice in the last six years and really struggled in both appearances. That said, I believe that this is a phenomenal course for Conners, who hits it farther and straighter off the tee than just about anybody on the PGA Tour.
Conners lives nearby in Palm Beach and has an abundance of experience playing Florida golf on these tricky greens surrounded by ample water. I was pleasantly surprised with a top-25 finish at the Genesis Invitational where Conners gained +3.58 strokes on approach that week. The putter has still held him back, but when it finally clicks, Conners has the potential to win any tournament that he plays, including the new Cognizant Classic.
#4. Min Woo Lee
He has played in three PGA Tour events in 2024, but the most electric player to get his Tour card year, Min Woo Lee, has yet to settle in on the PGA Tour. Lee possesses an absolute weapon Off The Tee, averaging nearly 315 yards on drives over the past 24 rounds played. I do have some legitimate concerns about his accuracy, especially at a course that is penal for wayward misses, but he's definitely one of the most high-end talented players in the field.
I'm excited to watch Min Woo Lee in person next week and see what all the hype is about with my own eyes. The raucous crowds will eat him up if he starts cooking and it would simply be a ton of few to watch him reach his potential as a player next week. Will he make a run at the leaderboard in Palm Beach...we wait and see!
#3. Tom Kim
Tom Kim will tee it up this week for the first time at PGA National, and he arrives in sneaky good form. Just six starts ago at the Shriners during the fall swing, Tom Kim won. He also finished with top-25 finishes in both of his last two starts at the WM Phoenix Open and the Genesis Invitational on the West Coast.
Kim is above average in Driving Accuracy and has been thriving with his shorter irons of late. He was able to gain over five strokes on approach in Phoenix, which is a great sign heading into this week. He'll have to adjust to the time zone change coming from the West Coast, so here's to hoping Tom Kim doesn't cut it too close and miss his tee time like he nearly did in L.A. Yikes.
Tom Kim had to hustle to make his final-round tee time at Riviera. 😂
One of us.
🎥 @PGATOUR, ESPN+ | @TheGenesisInvpic.twitter.com/NIrbIe5ZDp
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) February 18, 2024
#2. Matt Fitzpatrick
I was texting with friends all last week hoping that we get a top-end, unexpected late commitment to the field. That came on Friday when Matt Fitzpatrick's name appeared on the list. Fitzpatrick is one of the many European players who have made Palm Beach their American home, and he spends most of his time in the U.S. playing and practicing at the Bear's Club a few miles down the road.
He has always played well at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, but has elected to tee it up in preparation for that event at PGA National this year. Fitzpatrick has been a bit shaky with his irons lately, and inconsistencies across 72 holes have cost him some strong results. I was encouraged that he managed his best finish of the West Coast swing at TPC Scottsdale, on a course that I think is the best comp to what we have in store this coming week.
He's one of only a handful of players in the field with major championship ability, and the harder that PGA National plays this week, the better for Fitzpatrick. He has to gear up for the Seminole Member-Guest somehow, why not win the Cognizant Classic?
#1. Rory McIlroy
The 2012 Honda Classic winner and highest-ranked player in the field is set to make his return at PGA National for the first time in six years. Rory McIlroy had a ton of early success at PGA National, winning in 2012 and finishing second in 2014. Then, from 2015 to 2018, he made three more starts, missed the cut twice, and finished T59. I didn't think McIlroy would ever play this event again after that.
His highly anticipated return is a welcome sight and fans in South Florida will certainly be following Rory closely, who became ingrained in the community while living in Palm Beach for many years. He's still the best player on the planet with a driver in hand or a 3-wood. Look at this beauty to close the deal in 2012, I'll never forget being greenside for this shot and watching it drop perfectly from the sky on the 18th hole.
Rory McIlroy at the Honda Classic 🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/83Vf3U4Ev7
— TRACKING RORY (@TrackingRory) January 26, 2024
The PGA Tour could really use a star to step into the spotlight on a Sunday and WIN, especially this week with growing disgruntlement by fans about the leaderboards and a certain mystery player making his debut on LIV. Go win this thing Rory, the Tour needs you!
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