Cognizant Classic 2026: Dave Tindall's each-way picks from 30/1 to 60/1

• 55/156.00 Eric Cole is a local and former runner-up here

• 30/131.00 Daniel Berger is a Floridian with three top fours here

• 60/161.00 Lee Hodges plays this course well

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Introduction to the Cognizant Classic

The Champion Course at PGA National only became host of the Cognizant Classic (formerly Honda Classic) in 2007 so there isn't that much history compared to other events.

And perhaps there is even less to go on than we think as what used to be one of the toughest tests in golf has started to become A.N. Other birdie fest.

The early history at PGA National shows a tournament constantly being won in single digits under par. Quite often by a major winner.

But last year we saw Jake Knapp shoot a 59 in round one and Joe Highsmith win with 19-under - scores that woud have been unthinkable in the past.

Prior to the 2023 edition, par was changed to 71 after the 10th was switched to a par 5.

But that only tells part of the story. The fairways are now overseeded - softening the turf and producing better lies - and greens have become far easier to hit.

Scores like -6 and -8 were enough to get you into a playoff previously. Now, the last three winning scores are -14 (Chris Kirk), -17 (Austin Eckroat) and -19 (Joe Highsmith).

It's still a challenge as water is in play on 15 of the 18 holes but The Bear Trap - holes 15-17 - wasn't anywhere near as fearsome last year and the weather looks decent again this week.

Sandwiched between Signature Events on west and east coasts, the tournament has lost some of its lustre.

The leading lights now see this as one to skip and the original field has been hit further after the withdrawals of Ben Griffin and Adam Scott.

Still, the start of the Florida Swing still creates a tingle as we know that The Players Championship is around the corner and the US Masters is starting to loom into view.  

Bet 1: Eric Cole @ 55/156.00

The PGA Tour switching coasts creates an obvious angle: back the players who will relish the return to Florida and its Bermuda greens after not having their best stuff out west.

Eric Cole won a ridiculous 56 times on the Florida-based Minor League Golf Tour and his closest brush with a PGA Tour victory came here on debut in 2023.

Cole shot 14-under after rounds of 67-66-66-67 but lost a playoff to Chris Kirk.

Having hometown advantage certainly helped as he lived near the course and had numerous family members and friends attending.

"As a rookie you haven't necessarily seen a lot of the courses, and it being a place where I can sleep in my own bed and stuff is really nice," said Cole later. "Anytime you get a chance to play a PGA Tour event right here is a big opportunity."

Perhaps with expectations set too high, he's missed the cut at PGA National in the last two editions but a Friday 69 last year suggested maybe he was getting that out of his system.

He returns in mixed form but a pair of 27ths at The American Express and Farmers Insurance Open were decent efforts.

At The American Express, where he had Bermuda greens to go at, Cole was fourth after 54 holes while he was also sixth at halfway at Torrey Pines.

Holes can be picked in some of his stats but he went bogey free for the first three days in The American Express and ranked 17th for SG: Putting.

With prices cramped elsewhere, the 55/156.00 for Cole makes some appeal (8 Places).

Bet 2: Daniel Berger @ 30/131.00 

Like Cole, Daniel Berger will be licking his lips with the tour pitching up in Florida. Like Cole, he finished runner-up here on his debut (2015). And like Cole, there were some definite signs of promise on the West Coast Swing.

Berger finished sixth in the Sony Open and 16th in Phoenix and that makes sense as both tournaments were played on his favoured Bermuda greens.

He gained strokes with the putter at both but it was a very different story on the Poa annua of Pebble and Riviera where he struggled on the greens (75-MC).

That's likely caused a price drift and, in such a weak field, he's worth taking here.

His history at PGA National isn't just confined to that second place in 2015 as Berger also posted fourth in both 2020 and 2022 before adding another top 25 last year (he missed the 2021 and 2023 editions).

Last year, he noted: "I think just being a Florida guy, subconsciously you pick up on things that probably the average person wouldn't pick up on.

"It's a reason why I've probably played well here in the past, because other guys aren't quite as used to it."

Berger's game is suited to this test and with six top 25s in his last eight Florida starts, he has to be on the radar.

Bet 3: Lee Hodges @ 60/161.00

Lee Hodges didn't play the Florida Swing in 2025 but a year earlier he enjoyed himself in the Sunshine State. Hodges posted 12th at Bay Hill, 35th in the Players Championship and 26th at the Valspar.

Ironically, he missed the cut here but in his two Cognizant Classic apperances before that, the American had finished ninth (2022) and 14th (2023).  

Hodges ended the 2025 campaign with fourth place in another Bermuda greens event, the RSM Classic. And on those same surfaces he opened 2026 with sixth place (alongside Berger) in the Sony Open. Waialae correlates well with PGA National.

Two missed cuts since don't look great but he didn't exactly do a great deal wrong in The American Express (70-71-67) while shooting 78 on the lengthy Poa annua of Torrey Pines South (he fired 69 on the North) can be dismissed.

He'll be chomping at the bit to get going again after sitting out the Signature Series Events and his strong Putting (ninth SGP in 2026) and ability to avoid mistakes (21st Bogey Avoidance in 2026, seventh in 2025) make him a good fit for this course - as he's shown.

Hodges fulfilled his medical exemption with that big finish at the Sony so, with his card secure, hopefully he'll be freed up to have a good run at this. 

Now read Steve Rawlings' in-depth Cognizant Classic preview

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