PGA DFS Core Plays: Cognizant Classic
Top-ranked DFS player, Notorious, breaks down his favorite PGA DFS picks at various price ranges on DraftKings and FanDuel for the Cognizant Classic. Who should you be building your lineups around? Find out below!
I had one large-field tournament lineup that was in the running at The Genesis Invitational. My lineup had finishes of T2, T2, T4, and 3 other golfers in the top 15. It made a good run in the large $25 GPP on DraftKings, but not having Jacob Bridgeman was the difference. Luckily, it was a profitable week. And for what feels like the 5th week in a row, I had a great week in Showdown contests. This has been a theme over the last few years, so make sure you check out our Showdown content between each round.
Editor’s Note: For more tournament and course notes for the Cognizant Classic, check out this week’s PGA DFS First Look. To get access to Noto’s PGA DFS Model Breakdown & Download link, which allows you to create your own projections, click here.
The PGA TOUR now heads to Florida for the first of four events in the Sunshine State. The first stop is PGA National, which has long been one of my favorite courses on TOUR. Perhaps it’s because I’ve had a lot of success at DFS and betting at this event over the years. I do have a qualm to pick with the TOUR though, as they have made the course a lot easier than it used to be. This was routinely one of the top-10 toughest courses, but it has played much easier in the last couple of seasons. With light wind in the forecast this week, we can expect the winning score to be in the -17 to -20 range like we’ve seen the last two years.
This used to be a less-than-driver course, but golfers have gotten a lot more aggressive off the tee recently. In 2025, golfers hit driver on 63% of tee shots that were not par 3, which was the highest mark in this event’s history. There are a lot of doglegs on the course, but the fairways are quite generous (35 yards wide on average). Surprisingly, Driving Distance has always been a predictive statistic for this event even when this was a less-than-driver course.
The greens here are large (7,000 square feet) and feature bermudagrass. Golfers will certainly be happy to putt on these greens after dealing with poa annua greens in the California events. Good iron play is important at all courses, but it is even more important than usual at PGA National. When water is in play on 15 of the 18 holes, it’s easy to see why good approach play is critical. There are a handful of golfers with consistent course history, but most golfers have up-and-down course history because water increases volatility.
I’m looking for good total drivers, good iron players, good scramblers, good bogey avoiders, and good Bermuda putters. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find all of that in this weak field.
Top PGA DFS Picks on DraftKings & FanDuel for the Cognizant Classic
Core Plays
Shane Lowry
DraftKings: $9,900 / pOWN%: 21%
FanDuel: $12,000 / pOWN%: 18%
Course History L5 Years: 11, 4, 5, 2, 36
Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 63
Strokes Gained: Approach: 2
Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green: 75
Strokes Gained: Putting: 60
Lowry is now the favorite after three of the best golfers in the field withdrew after salaries were released. We rarely see the favorite priced below $10,000, which is why the pricing feels so soft this week. Lowry has been dominant at this event over the years, finishing T11 or better in each of the last 4 years. He’s one of the best iron players in the field, and he already has 2 top-10 finishes to start the 2026 season. He’s mentioned how much he wants to win this tournament in particular, so he should come into the week with plenty of motivation. It’s not going to be too windy, but 10 MPH at this course can be difficult since the holes are so exposed to the elements. Lowry is elite in the wind.
Conviction Plays
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