2024 Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches: Top 10 power rankings at PGA National

No, this is not some newfangled event on the PGA Tour schedule.

For decades what we’ve known as the Honda Classic is now the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches. It’s a lot more of a clunky name post-sponsorship change, but at least we still get to see the pros take on one of golf’s more challenging venues.

The Champion Course at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, has been the host since 2007. 

The course measures 7,261 yards and plays to a par 70. Sounds pretty benign, right?

Not so much.

One factor is the wind. It tends to be gusty this time of year in Florida.

The weather forecast for the week predicts it to be a little breezy, mostly dry and temperatures in the 60s-70s Fahrenheit.

Oftentimes when the wind gets a hold of a player’s ball, it’s prone to hurl it towards water that is in play on every hole on the course. Water comes into play most notably at the “Bear Trap,” a particularly tricky set of holes on Nos. 15-17. The Cognizant Classic is regularly in the top five each year among PGA Tour stops for water balls.

Finding the fairway is crucial this week to be able to spin the ball on approach and avoid water or difficult bunkers. Distance is not a key stat this week as less than driver is the play on several par-4s and par-5s.

Field strength has fluctuated at this event. Some years we’ve gotten duels featuring the likes of Tiger, Rory, and Rickie. Other years, someone like Matt Jones runs away with it.

While PGA National is close to a home game for the bevy of golfers who live in South Florida, it hasn’t been a popular stop due to its position on the schedule and the difficulty of the course, among other reasons.

The Cognizant Classic was not anointed Signature Event status that is so crucial to reeling in big names. However, this year’s event is shaping up to have one of the better fields among non-signature events. The sparsely attended Mexico Open at Vidanta last week freed up a lot of guys’ schedules to come here as a tune-up before next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational (a Signature Event).

We’ve got 19 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking teeing it up this week. There are 144 players in the field seeking to make the 36-hole cut of top 65 and ties.

Without further ado, let’s dive into this week’s top 10 power rankings: