Cognizant Classic Preview: Talented Field Faces a Tough Test in PGA National
The Cognizant Classic, formally known as the more familiar Honda Classic, will Tee off on Thursday morning to a familiar course and a notable field of players. The course is the infamous PGA National Champions Course, which is located in beautiful Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It is a gorgeous-looking course for the aesthetics of the viewer. However, it is anything but attractive for the players trying to navigate the 7,000-plus yards the course offers. The headline of the beast of a course is the famous “Bear Trap,” which was named after the great Jack Niklaus. The rigorous three-hole stretch involves the 15th, 16th, and 17th holes, which inevitably leads to chaos late in tournaments that are held at PGA National.
The Field that will be looking to conquer this course is filled with notable names. The headliner is, of course, Rory Mcllroy. While Rory is the odds-on favorite heading into the event, he will be greeted with stiff competition right away when he tees off on Thursday morning alongside last year’s champion of the event, Chris Kirk. Some other noteworthy names in this year’s field include many of the top 100 players in the world, like Corey Conners, Billy Horshcel, Cameron Young, Denny McCarthy, Rickie Fowler, Sepp Straka, and Matt Fitzpatrick, all vying for the first Cognizant Classic crown. It will be an absolute treat to see some of the best players in the world attempt to take on one of the more challenging golf courses on the PGA Tour.
This tournament will also be kicking off a run of memorable Florida tournaments all throughout March, heading right into the Masters in April. Two of those tournaments are the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and the first major of 2024, The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. With these critical tournaments all on the horizon, this weekend in Palm Beach Gardens is crucial for the top players to make sure they are on top of their games, and there are not many better courses in the world to test a player’s performance quite like PGA National. It will be tough to pick against Rory in this event, but if there is one guy with the best chance of challenging him, look out for 2022 U.S. Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick to give Rory some trouble potentially. You can watch all of this weekend’s exciting golf on the GOLF Network on Thursday and Friday, and the weekend will have coverage on NBC.
