Hello, Sunshine State.
The PGA Tour’s Florida swing kicks off with the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches at PGA National. The event, first played in 1972, was formerly known as the Honda Classic for 41 years until Cognizant took over the title sponsorship in 2024.
A 144-player field will play for part of a $9.2 million purse, with the winner collecting $1,656,000.
From its field, course, history and tee times, here’s what you need to know for the Cognizant Classic.
The field
With the Arnold Palmer Invitational (a signature event) and the Players Championship following the Cognizant on the Tour schedule, some players have opted to rest this week.
But there’s still an ample amount of stars set to tee it up at PGA National—with some trying to play their way into the next two events.
Fifteen of the top 50 players in the world are in the field, highlighted by No. 17 Russell Henley, No. 18 Shane Lowry, No. 19 Sepp Straka and No. 20 Billy Horschel.
Other notable names playing this week are Rickie Fowler, Gary Woodland, Daniel Berger, Brian Harman and Jordan Spieth, who is making his first career start at PGA National, still looking to build his game back up after wrist surgery last year.
“So, my goal now, as we look towards the Masters, is to try to play difficult golf courses and work my way into contention and just see what I can improve upon by the time we get to Augusta,” Spieth said Tuesday in his pre-tournament press conference.
Amateur Luke Clanton, a junior at Florida State University, needs to make the cut to earn his Tour card.
There are also 10 past champions in the field: Austin Eckroat (2024), Chris Kirk (2023), Straka (2022), Sungjae Im (2020), Keith Mitchell (2019), Fowler (2017), Henley (2014), Camilo Villegas (2010), Luke Donald (2006) and Matt Kuchar (2002).
Eckroat was the fourth player to earn his maiden Tour title at the Cognizant in the last six years. At 17 under, he broke the course record with a three-stroke victory over Min Woo Lee.
Maybe on Sunday night, it’ll be five in seven years.
The course
For many years, PGA National’s Champion Course was one of the top 10 most difficult courses on Tour. Sometimes, it was even in the top 5, like in 2018 when yielded the second-highest scoring average on Tour.
But the course, which hosted the 1983 Ryder Cup and ‘87 PGA Championship, has been a little more gentle the past few years.
“This year it’s a lot more benign of a setup,” Rory McIlroy said ahead of the 2024 tournament. “The rough has been cut back. There has been a couple of bunkers taken out in certain spots. The greens are soft at the minute. I would like to think they’ll get a little bit firmer as the week goes on.
“Yeah, maybe it’s not quite the test that it was 10 years ago. Still you got hit the shots and all the hazards are in the same places. But, yeah, the rough isn't quite as penal. It seems right now that they're keeping the greens a little softer.”
The course—a 7,167-yard, par-71 with 7,000 sq. ft. greens, 60 bunkers and water in play on 15 holes—was the 20th toughest course on Tour in 2024, accumulating a scoring average of 70.097 (-0.903).
The difficulty can partially be attributed to “The Bear Trap.”
Nicknamed after Jack Nicklaus, who redesigned the course 35 years ago, the Bear Trap is the three-hole stretch of Nos. 15, 16 and 17—some of the course’s hardest.
The par-3 15th is 179 yards, the par-4 16th plays 434 yards and the par-3 17th lays out at 190 yards. All three holes have a heavy water presence—and a lively crowd surrounding them.
“You just try and hit the best shots you can and keep it away from the water and manage yourself around those holes,” Shane Lowry said in 2023. “If the pin is tucked, you just stay away from it and try and make pars. They are literally par holes. If you make three pars around the Bear Trap, you are pretty happy standing on 18 tee.”
The Bear Trap at PGA National shows no mercy.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 1, 2024
32 balls found the water on holes 15-17 @The_Cognizant. pic.twitter.com/DKFtm0gQG2
History: Trophy to toothache
Rory McIlroy has described his 2012 Honda Classic victory as one of the most memorable in his career.
Standing on No. 13 at PGA National, he heard the crowd erupt. Why? Tiger Woods made an eagle on No. 18 and was within a shot of McIlroy after the lowest final round (62) of Woods’s career.
The 22-year-old Northern Irishman, however, held on for a two-stroke victory to become world No. 1 for the first time in his career.
But a year later, fortunes changed.
McIlroy, the defending champion, was 7 over and a shoo-in to miss the cut, so he walked off the course on the 9th hole of his second round.
In the parking lot afterward, he told reporters, “I can’t really say much, guys. I’m just in a bad place mentally” and cited wisdom tooth pain for withdrawing. Then, he issued a statement, saying the pain left him “simply unable to concentrate.”
Roughly 48 hours later, McIlroy expressed regret over how he handled the situation.
“What I should have done is take my drop, chip it on, try to make a five and play my hardest on the back nine, even if I shot 85,” he said. “What I did was not good for the tournament, not good for the kids and the fans who were out there watching me—it was not the right thing to do.”
How to watch (all times EST)
- Thursday: 2–6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
- Friday: 2–6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
- Saturday: 1–3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3–6 p.m. (NBC)
- Sunday: 1–3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3–6 p.m. (NBC)
ESPN+ will also have featured coverage each day, starting at 6:45 a.m. and ending at 6 p.m.
Round 1 and 2 tee times
First- and second-round tee times and groupings for the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. pic.twitter.com/vp8IR9zbBs
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) February 25, 2025
This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2025 Cognizant Classic Preview: Field, Course, History, Tee Times, How to Watch.
