PGA Tour Brunch | Cognizant Classic
Preview of the 2026 Cognizant Classic | PGA National
By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk
PALM BEACH GARDENS - In case you haven’t noticed, it’s time for the Florida Swing and we’re headed to The Palm Beaches (It used to be The Honda).
Defending champion Joe Highsmith returns to PGA National Resort where he earned his maiden PGA TOUR title with a two stroke victory over last week’s winner, Jacob Bridgeman, and J.J. Spaun.
Last year, Highsmith made the cut on the number (5-under), becoming the first player on TOUR to win after making the cut on the number since 2016 (Brandt Snedeker/Farmers Insurance Open) and the sixth player to accomplish the feat since 2003 Bridgeman is sitting this one out.
Billy Horschel will be making his 14th appearance in the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. He has recorded six Top-25s and three Top-10s in the event,
Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches:
The field for the 2026 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches features:
Eight of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Rankings; highest ranked player is Ryan Gerard (26th)
Nine players inside the top 50 of the 2026 FedExCup standings; highest ranked player is Ryan Gerard (7th)
Nine winners from the 2025 season: Michael Brennan (Bank of Utah Championship), Steven Fisk (Sanderson Farms Championship), Ryan Gerard (Barracuda Championship), Garrick Higgo (Corales Puntacana Championship), Joe Highsmith (Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches), William Mouw (ISCO Championship), Adam Schenk (Butterfield Bermuda Championship), Sami Valimaki (The RSM Classic), Karl Vilips (Puerto Rico Open)
Six players who won on the DP World Tour last season: Dan Brown, Haotong Li, John Parry, Kristoffer Reitan, Adrien Saddier, Aaron Rai
Six past champions of the 2025 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, including the last three winners: Joe Highsmith (2025), Austin Eckroat (2024), Chris Kirk (2023), Keith Mitchell (2019), Camilo Villegas (2010), Matt Kuchar (2002).
A trip to the Way Back Machine notes - back in 2022 when the tournament was called the Honda Classic - the winner - Sepp Straka - became the first player from Austria to win on the Tour.
PGA National’s 15th, 16th and 17th holes make up one of the most difficult three-hole stretches on the PGA Tour, known as the “Bear Trap.” Among non-major courses that have been played in at least seven seasons since the event moved to PGA National in 2007, “The Bear Trap” ranks as the fourth-toughest stretch (+0.63 on average).
The Cog | Tournament Facts
COURSE: PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
YARDS/PAR: 7,223 yards/Par 71
ARCHITECTS: Tom Fazio
PRIZE Money - Purse/Winner: $9,600,000/$1,728,000
OVERVIEW: (link)
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Joe Highsmith
PAST RESULTS: (link)
FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup
How to Watch: Visit (PGATourCom)
The Cog | The Basics
We’re on the East Coast so we’re looking at early tee times once again, forcing PGA Tour Brunch to be a little more like PGA Tour Breakfast. The Tee Times on Thursday and Friday will run from 6:45am (ET) to 1:35pm (ET).
Weather: Thursday’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies, hot (81-degrees). Winds blowing at 13 mph. A 12% chance of rain.
Tournament Web Site: (link)
FedEx Cup Info: (link)
PGA Tour Brunch will post at 6:00am (ET) Thursday as the Tour has worked its way East and we’ll try to get ahead of the early Tee Times for R-1 editions.
The Cog: Field, Tee Times, Updates and Leaderboard
The Field: (link)
Tee Times: (link)
Updates:
Friday, February 20
Daniel Berger IN
Michael Kim WD
Sunday, February 22
Taylor Pendrith WD / Sam Ryder IN
Adam Hadwin IN (sponsor exemption)
Monday, February 23
Ben Griffin WD / Jackson Suber IN
Jacob Bridgeman WD / Lanto Griffin IN
Patrick Rodgers WD / Brandt Snedeker IN
Harry Higgs IN (sponsor exemption)
Field expanded from 121 players to 123 to round out threesomes:
Frankie Capan III IN
Carson Young IN
Adam Scott WD / Chan Kim IN
Tournament Leaderboard: (link)
Last Week’s Final Leaderboard: (link)
Last Year’s (2025) Cognizant Leaderboard: (link)
Cog Odds | Tournament Odds
Source: CBS Sportsline
Ryan Gerard +1600
Shane Lowry +1700
Nicolai Højgaard +1900
Rasmus Højgaard +2200
Michael Thorbjornsen +2200
Keith Mitchell +2700
Daniel Berger +2700
Brooks Koepka +3000
Aaron Rai +3300
Alex Smalley +3300
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +3300
Davis Thompson +3300
Will Zalatoris +3500
Max McGreevy +3500
Richard Hoey +4000
Johnny Keefer +4000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +4000
Haotong Li +4000
Thorbjørn Olesen +4000
Nico Echavarria +4000
Max Homa +4500
Kristoffer Reitan +4500
Michael Brennan +4500
Jordan Smith +4500
Mac Meissner +4500
Mackenzie Hughes +4500
Chris Kirk +4500
Sami Valimaki +5000
John Parry +5500
Tom Kim +5500
Stephan Jaeger +5500
Ricky Castillo +5500
Seamus Power +6000
Garrick Higgo +6000
Matt Wallace +6000
Doug Ghim +7000
Kris Ventura +7000
Jesper Svensson +7000
Kevin Yu +7000
Zecheng Dou +7500
Austin Eckroat +7500
S.H. Kim +7500
Joel Dahmen +7500
Kevin Roy +7500
Eric Cole +7500
Gary Woodland +7500
David Ford +8000
Dan Brown +8000
Billy Horschel +8000
Adrien Dumont de Chassart +8000
Dylan Wu +8000
Luke Clanton +8000
Emiliano Grill +8000
Vince Whaley +8000
David Lipsky +10000
Mark Hubbard +10000
Chandler Blanchet +10000
Davis Riley +10000
Keita Nakajima +10000
Sudarshan Yellamaraju +10000
Takumi Kanaya +10000
Beau Hossler +10000
Taylor Moore +10000
Austin Smotherman +10000
Lee Hodges +10000
Erik van Rooyen +10000
Matt Kuchar +10000
Karl Vilips +10000
Isaiah Salinda +10000
Blades Brown +10000
Steven Fisk +10000
Andrew Putnam +10000
Matti Schmid +10000
Chad Ramey +10000
Adrien Saddier +10000
Sam Ryder +10000
Adam Hadwin +10000
Jackson Suber +10000
Chan Kim +10000
TL’s Wedge for an Edge: How about a slightly Winter-Olympics themed foursome of: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Michael Thorbjornsen, Nicolai Højgaard and, a regular guy, Daniel Berger. On the bench will be Ryan Gerard and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
For the Tour One and Done? Nicolai Højgaard
What They’re Saying
Power Rankings for The Cog (PGATourCom)
First Look (PGATourCom)
Upcoming $ Purse (PGATourCom)
Sports Gambling, Daily Fantasy & Industry News
Best Bets, Strategies from (Action Net)
Expert Picks for The Cog - (PGATourCom)
Sleeper Picks for The Cog - (PGATourCom)
WHOOP Extends Partnership (PGATourCom)
On This Day in Golf History
February 25, 1957 - Arnold Palmer won his fifth career PGA Tour title, defeating Doug Ford by one stroke at the Houston Open at Memorial Park golf course. Six weeks later, Ford would come back to defeat Palmer by 10 strokes in the final round of The Masters. (Courtesy of Randy Walker), Author of On This Day in Golf History, available via Amazon.com and by clicking HERE
Parting Putt
Last Weekend:
Next Up
PGA TOUR Brunch is brought to you by Digital Sports Desk. Subscriptions to PGA Tour Brunch are the perfect gift for your friends and/or family members who love pro golf. This e-News is not affiliated with the PGA Tour and is solely for news coverage of the sports events.