Joe Champion
The 4-week Florida Swing starts this week at PGA National’s Champion Course, with its infamous Bear Trap stretch, which hosts the Cognizant Classic for the 19th time. With the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship taking place in the next fortnight, the PGA Tour’s biggest names have all opted to skip the Cognizant Classic, making for a wide-open betting market which is headed by Ireland’s Shane Lowry. Let’s get into my expert predictions for the Cognizant Classic, while you can also find out our golf picks for EVERY PGA Tour event this year. Last week was a stinger, as +7500 pick Aldrich Potgieter was beaten in a playoff at the Mexico Open, so let’s hopefully go one better here.
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Cognizant Classic golf picks and predictions
Cognizant Classic best bet: Shane Lowry (+2200)
Odds available at Bet365 at time of publishing.
Lowry, available at +2200 odds, has unfinished business with the Palm Beach Gardens layout, finishing 2nd, 5th and 4th over the last 3 years, spurning winning chances on each occasion. While he has to prove he can get over the line on the PGA Tour — something he hasn’t done as an individual on US soil since 2015 — Lowry has an obvious affinity for the Champion Course, a testing layout which has been redesigned several times by Jack Nicklaus.
The aforementioned Bear Trap, the three-hole stretch from the 15th to 17th, is far from the only part of the course that demands tee-to-green precision, which has been Lowry’s big strength in recent months. The 37-year-old started the year with a missed cut in the Farmers Insurance Open and he was only 39th when returning to Torrey Pines for the Genesis Invitational last time out, but he was also a runner-up behind McIlroy in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am 3 weeks ago and has what it takes to succeed this week.
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Cognizant Classic prediction: Daniel Berger (+2800)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Lowry is based in Jupiter, Florida, which helps explain his comfort at PGA National, and the same is true for Sunshine State native Daniel Berger, who was a runner-up at the Phoenix Open and 12th at the Genesis Invitational on his last 2 starts. Berger, back in form after a spate of injury problems, has 3 top-4 finishes to his name in the Cognizant Classic and it will be no surprise if he threatens a 5th PGA Tour victory.
Cognizant Classic longshot pick: Max Greyserman (+5000)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Another Florida resident who catches the eye is Max Greyserman. He has posted 5 top-10 finishes from his last 12 PGA Tour appearances and is in excellent form of late. This could be the week that everything comes together for Greyserman.
Cognizant Classic longshot pick: Gary Woodland (+5500)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook and Bet365 at time of publishing.
Lastly, Floridian Gary Woodland could also storm his way into contention this week. Woodland was excellent from tee to green at both Pebble Beach and Phoenix and has 4 top-10 finishes to his name at this venue. His excellent recent play indicates that he could be another to follow this week.
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