Cognizant Classic Preview and Picks

The field includes 53 of the top 100 and 19 of the top 50 in the latest Official World Rankings: Here is the list of those in the top-50: #2 Rory McIlroy, #9 Matt Fitzpatrick, #16 Tom Kim, #23 Cameron Young, #25 Sepp Straka, #26 Matthieu Pavon, #27 Chris Kirk, #29 Russell Henley, #31 Rickie Fowler, #34 Sungjae Im, #36 Eric Cole, #37 Lucas Glover, #40 J.T. Poston, #41 Ryan Fox, #42 Min Woo Lee, #44 Byeong Hun An, #46 Justin Rose, #47 Denny McCarthy, and #49 Corey Conners.

In 2018 there was 46 of the top 100, in 2019 33 top 100 players while in 2020 it went down to 29.  In 2021, 30 players in the top-100 were in the field.  Last year there were only 18 top 100 players in the field. In 2018 there were 21 top 50 players, in 2019 13 top-50 in the field while in 2020 there was 12 while in 2021 there was only 6.  Last year there were no top-ten players in the field and the best player was #18, Sungjae Im.  So the field is drastically better this year with the Mexico Open being played the week before.

The field includes only 9 of the top 25 on the FedEx point standings for this year.  Those players are 1 Matthieu Pavon #4 Chris Kirk #6 Byeong Hun An #8 Jake Knapp #9 J.T. Poston #16 Tom Hoge #17 Luke List #21 Eric Cole, and #22 Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

The field includes 10 past champions: Chris Kirk (2023), Sepp Straka (2022), Sungjae Im (2020), Keith Mitchell (2019), Rickie Fowler (2017), Padraig Harrington (2015 & ’05), Russell Henley (2014), Rory McIlroy (2012), Camilo Villegas (2010), and Matt Kuchar (2002).

A perfect way for fantasy golfers to check on the past performance of all the players in the Cognizant field is our performance chart listed by average finish.  Another way to check who is the best is through a special formula worked out in GolfStats that gives us the best average performances at the Cognizant in the last five years or check out our sortable 8-year glance at the Cognizant.

The Buzz

So it’s off to Florida. But before we talk about that, there are some things to discuss. First, after a sabbatical of nearly 12 years, Anthony Kim is playing professional golf again. He first showed up on the PGA Tour in 2007 and in 26 events, had four top-ten finishes, and was 43 in the FedEx Cup race. In his rookie season, his best finish came at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he finished T-3rd. Despite his outstanding year, Brandt Snedeker, who won the Wyndham Championship, got Rookie of the Year honors. Kim’s best season was the following year, 2008 when in 22 starts, he won twice and had 8 top-ten finishes. His first victory came in the Wells Fargo Championship, and he won again two months later at the AT&T National. He was 4th in the FedEx Cup race for the year and won $4.6 million. Kim won again in 2010, winning the Shell Houston Open in a playoff, but he blew out his Achilles tendon in 2012 and had numerous surgeries. His last event was the 2012 Wells Fargo. It was thought that he would miss up to a year, but he not only dropped out of golf but became a recluse, not talking to anyone. He was living in Dallas, and the rumor was that he had somewhere between $10 to 20 million dollar insurance policy in case of a career-ending injury. With Kim not talking to anyone, he just dropped out and it was rumored that he could live comfortably with the insurance policy, but he was barred from playing professional golf ever again.

12 years later, the talk was that Kim wanted to make a comeback, but he needed someone to pay for his insurance policy. The PGA Tour wouldn’t do that, but Greg Norman committed to having him play on the LIV Tour, which supposedly paid the insurance policy. It will be interesting to see how he does. At 38, he is just past his prime but still has a few good years left. Frankly, I don’t see it. I am still waiting to hear of someone taking a decade break, returning to the PGA Tour, and being competitive. Now, we have seen some Champion tour players who have never played much professional golf come onto the scene. The first person that comes to mind is Allen Doyle, who played on the PGA Tour for two years in 1997 and ’98, then joined the Champions Tour in 1998 and won 11 times. Another player was Jay Sigel, who had a remarkable amateur record, including back-to-back Amateur wins in 1982 and ’83, then deciding to turn professional and joined the Championship winning eight times. But the point we need to look at in Kim’s case is that he has not played competitive golf in 12 years; sorry, I don’t see it. We will see, but I don’t expect Kim to contend much; sorry, you can’t return to professional golf after a 12-year sabbatical from competitive golf.

Was the West Coast swing a success?

The last eight weeks have been weird. Last year, we saw the likes of Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose, and Max Homa win. Every year of the West Coast swing, you have a marquee winner; looking through decades of West Coast swing, it’s the first time a non-marquee player has won. Before I say that, yes, both Hideki Matsuyama and Wyndham Clark are major winners, so yes, it did have marquee winners. Still, we see the results of LIV golf, taking players who have won over the last few years on the West Coast swing. We saw the PGA Tour’s future with Matthieu Pavon, Nick Dunlap, and Jake Knapp winning. But, in the way of picking winners, this is the first time since I have been doing these previews, going back to 2005, when I went the West Coast swing without picking one winner.

Things you need to know about the Cognizant Classic

This will be the 52nd Cognizant Classic.  The tournament started in 1972 as the Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic and was played at Inverrary Golf & C.C. in Lauderhill, Florida.  It’s a bit strange, and nobody will bother to care, but Jackie Gleason would have been 106 years old last month.  Most players don’t even know who he was and how great the old Honeymooner shows were. Maybe I am old and remember him, he was a hilarious guy and loved golf.  In 1981, Jackie Gleason was dropped from the tournament, and the following year, Honda came aboard as the tournament sponsor; today, they are the longest-running sponsor on the PGA Tour. After playing at several courses for 15 years, the tournament switched courses again in 2007. This time to the Champion Course at PGA National, the 1983 Ryder Cup, and the 1987 PGA Championship site.  It became an instant success and upgraded the tournament with more marquee and higher-ranked players attending. In 1976, the Players Championship, which moved around to different courses, chose Inverrary Golf & C.C., and the Inverrary Classic wasn’t played that year.  The event is the first event in the Florida swing.

This year is bringing a significant change in sponsorship. Since 1982, Honda has sponsored this event; it was the longest-running sponsor on the PGA Tour. But last year, the decision was made to drop sponsorship, and the PGA Tour got Cognizant to pick it up. For those who have never heard of the company, it’s an American multinational information technology services and consulting company. It is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey. It was founded as an in-house technology unit of Dun & Bradstreet in 1994 in India and started serving external clients in 1996. Today, Cognizant helps companies modernize technology, reimagine processes, and transform experiences to stay ahead in a fast-changing world. With the use of A.I. technology, the sponsorship will allow the company to help more people learn about it.

Four Choices for the Most Critical Stats for Players to Do Well at PGA National

*Greens in Regulation: Since the greens average 7,000 square feet, they are usually easy to hit. But since there is a lot of undulation, hitting it to the perfect place is essential. Last year and in 2022 on the PGA Tour, the greens of PGA National were the 20th hardest greens to hit. In 2021, they were the 16th hardest to hit, while in 2020, they were the 4th hardest to hit. In 2019, it was the 7th hardest to hit; in 2018, it was the 4th hardest to hit; while in 2017, they were the 15th hardest; and in 2016, it was the 12th hardest to hit. This has been the norm for PGA National; in 2015, it ranked 6th; in 2014, it ranked 18th; in 2013, 5th; in 2012, 11th; and 6th in 2011. So, a player that hits lots of greens will have an advantage.

*Rough Proximity: How close you can get the ball on the green when you’re in the rough off the tee. Last year, PGA National finished 31st; in 2022, it was T-21st; in 2021, it was the 24th hardest course on the PGA Tour. In 2020, it ranked 7th. In 2019, it was 6th hardest, and in 2018, it was 9th. In 2017, it was 8th; in 2016, it was 3rd in this stat.

*Scrambling: No matter how good your game is, missing greens always happen, so it’s essential to salvage par. Last year, PGA National ranked 18th in getting it up and down, and in 2021, it was 10th hardest on tour, while it was 7th in 2021 and 3rd in 2020. In 2019, it ranked 20th, while in 2018, it was the 8th hardest. In 2017, it was the 15th hardest; in 2016, it was the 5th hardest in scrambling; in 2015, it was the 7th hardest, so it’s a hard stat for players on this course.

*Par Breakers: The course is so demanding that making many birdies and eagles is very difficult. So, players who can make a lot will do well on this course, which ranked 11th last year, 6th in 2022, 13th in 2021, and 3rd the year before. In 2019, it ranked 5th and 2nd in 2018. In 2017, it ranked 18th and 5th in this stat on tour in 2016.