Cognizant Classic
Feb. 26- Mar. 1, 2026
The PGA TOUR returns to Florida this week (February 26th – March 1st) for the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, contested at PGA National Resort (The Champion Course) – the longtime PGA TOUR venue that also has hosted the Ryder Cup and PGA Championship. The Cognizant Classic is also the final chance for players to earn their way into the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
COURSE: PGA National (Champion), par 71, 7,223 yards. The course has been increased in length by about 100 yards from last year, where No. 10 was already lengthened by 20 yards for the 2025 edition of the tournament. Fairway lines were widened in 2023, and one full acre of fairway grass was added between 2023 and 2024.
Water is in play on 15 of the 18 holes, including the iconic "Bear Trap" stretch (Nos. 15-17).
This marks the 20th anniversary of the event being contested at PGA National.
72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Justin Leonard (2003 at Mirasol); PGA National record: 265, Joe Highsmith (2025)
18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Jake Knapp (first round, 2025)
FIELD NOTES: Brooks Koepka returns to action on TOUR after playing both the WM Phoenix Open and Farmers Insurance Open. Koepka has teed it up at PGA National eight times previous with his best result coming in 2019 when he finished tied for second. … Joe Highsmith returns to defend his title at PGA National, looking to become the first person to successfully go back-to-back at the Cognizant Classic since Jack Nicklaus in 1977-78. … Ryan Gerard is the top-ranked golfer in the FedEx Cup standings in the field at No. 7 and highest ranked in the Official World Golf Rankings as well at No. 26. His notable climb up the rankings is thanks to his back-to-back runner-up results to start the year at the Sony Open in Hawaii and The American Express. … Other notables in the field include Shane Lowry and Max Homa.
SIGNATURE EVENT STORYLINES: The top 10 FedEx Cup points earners through the Cognizant Classic will earn spots in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, with Jake Knapp leading the way and Min Woo Lee in second. … Adam Scott, who finished in solo fourth last week at The Genesis Invitational, sits fifth. (Knapp, Lee and Scott are not in the field this week.) ... Michael Thorbjornsen is at No. 11, just nine points back of the magic number. He’s teeing it up this week at PGA National but looks to be in good shape regardless – he leads the Aon Swing 5. … The top five FedEx Cup points earners in the Sony Open in Hawaii, The American Express, Farmers Insurance Open, WM Phoenix Open and Cognizant Classic will earn spots in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. … Nicolai Højgaard, Haotong Li, Stephan Jaeger and Kevin Roy round out the Aon Swing 5 heading into the final event of this stretch.
LAST TIME: Joe Highsmith rolled in a slippery 5-footer to make the cut on the number Friday at the Cognizant Classic and then went on to win the event two days later. Highsmith recorded the lowest weekend score in PGA National history with a pair of 7-under 64s and rallied from a four-shot deficit with three straight birdies around the turn in the final round to eventually win by two shots over J.J. Spaun and Jacob Bridgeman. Jake Knapp, who was trying to become the first wire-to-wire winner in tournament history – after opening the week with a 59 on Thursday – had a one-shot lead on the back nine Sunday before hitting his approach on No. 11 into the water, leading to a triple bogey and his ultimate undoing.
Here are your Golf Professional Staff & GM Picks for the Week
(Tag & reply to this post with your picks this week and see if you can beat our staff picks)
**This week we are doubling down on the fun by adding GM, Cale Bolinger, to the mix. Don’t miss your opportunity to select your pics and see how they stack up against our 4 celebrity prognosticators!
Matt Krallman - 1. Shane Lowry
2. Aaron Rai
Dark Horse - Adam Schenk
Matt Kay - 1. Shane Lowry
2. Will Zalatoris
Dark Horse - Chris Kirk
Nic Johnson - 1. Brooks Koepka (since Scottie Scheffler isn’t playing)
2. Cam Young
Dark Horse - Blades Brown
Cale Bolinger - 1. Daniel Berger
2. Will Zalatoris
Dark Horse - Kevin Streelman