PGA DFS Core Plays: Cognizant Classic
Top-ranked DFS player, Notorious, breaks down his favorite PGA DFS picks at various salary ranges for this week’s tournament. Who should you be building around? Find out below.
The Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beach Beaches… really rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
Honda is no longer the sponsor of this event, but it will still be held at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The course is the same as it has always been with one exception — they have lengthened the 10th hole and turned it from a long par 4 to a reachable par five. This doesn’t change much in terms of the total strokes expected of the tournament, but it will make an impact on the leaderboard. Rather than seeing a winner in the -8 to -12 range, we’ll likely see the winning score be a few shots lower.
The course is now a par 71 that measures 7,147 yards. This is routinely one of the toughest tracks on the PGA TOUR, especially when the wind picks up. Like most Florida courses, there are water hazards galore. Water is in play on 15 of the 18 holes. When it comes to the leaderboard for most water balls, this course is always up near the top. Due to the hazards lurking off the tee, the narrow fairways, and a few doglegs, many will opt to club down on a lot of the holes. The average driving distance at this event last year was 280.4 yards, which was one of the lowest marks on TOUR. We have seen several longer hitters play well here, but distance is not a prerequisite for success.
Noto’s PGA Model Download & Video for the Cognizant Classic
The greens at PGA National are average in size (7,000 square feet) and were only hit in regulation at a 64% clip in 2023. They feature bermudagrass and usually measure around 12 on the stimpmeter (which is on the faster side of the scale). With the greens being tough to hit and with the scrambling success rate lower than TOUR average, a tidy short game will go a long way this week. Course history has been fairly predictive over the years, so experience at this event and experience playing in Florida are both advantages. I’m also looking for golfers who tend to play their best on difficult tracks, as this will not be the birdie-fest that we saw last week in Mexico.
PGA DFS Picks: DraftKings & FanDuel Core Plays for the Cognizant Classic
Field Size:
- 144 golfers
Cut Rule:
- Top 65 and ties
Weather Forecasts
PGA National
- Location: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
- Par 71 — 7,147 yards
- Difficulty: 2023 (13th), 2022 (7th), 2021 (6th), 2020 (3rd), 2019 (5th)
- Fairway width in landing areas: 30 yards
- Green size: 7,000 square feet
- Green type: bermuda
- 2023 tournament averages:
- Driving distance = 280 yards
- Driving accuracy = 60%
- Greens in regulation = 64%
Event Notes
- PGA National is one of the toughest stops on the PGA TOUR
- Water hazards are on 15 of the holes, causing a lot of penalty strokes
- Course features the famous 3-hole stretch known as ‘The Bear Trap’
- They lengthened the 10th hole this year and turned it into a par 5
- There are 60 strategically placed bunkers on the course
- Very few trees on the property, so the course is exposed to wind
- Fairways and greens are both difficult to hit on average
- Over 60% of approach shots are hit from 125-200 yards
- Scrambling is difficult here, so a tidy short game pays dividends
- Even though driver is not required on many holes, long hitters play well here
- Course history has been important here over the years
What to Look For
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Bogey avoidance
- Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (emphasis on distance)
- Course history
- Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green
- Strokes Gained: Putting (emphasis on bermuda)
- Experience in Florida
- Success on difficult courses
Core Plays
Eric Cole
DraftKings: $9,900 / pOWN: 21%
FanDuel: $10,800 / pOWN: 19%
Strokes Gained Off the Tee: 83
Strokes Gained Approach: 4
Strokes Gained Around the Green: 27
Strokes Gained Putting (Bermuda): 7
Birdie or Better %: 1
Bogey Avoidance: 4
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