Cognizant Classic 2024 Preview by Jack Milner
For those following the PGA Tour in the UK it’s an extra few hours sleep this week and beyond, with the West-Coast swing done and dusted and the tour moving onto Florida for the Cognizant Classic. The tournament was ‘The Honda Classic’ for 42 years before the car manufacturers ended their long-stand relationships last year, another potential hammer-blow to The PGA Tour in wake of the LIV Golf movement.
Nevertheless, the tournament has attracted big names and no bigger than Rory McIlroy. Rory, a four-time major winner and one green jacket away from the grand slam, has been slow to start his season thus far but will be far more comfortable with the Florida sunshine on his back.
Without the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schaufelle, Patrick Cantley and Collin Morikawa it’s easy to see why Rory is a single-figure price in a tournament that is lacking in serious depth. It isn’t until you move away from the ‘bigger’ events on tour that you see just how hard the LIV golf defections has hurt the tour as a commercial entity.
Cognizant Classic prices from kwiff
Rory McIlroy 6.00
Cameron Young 6.70
Tom Kim 14.40
Ben An 15.70
Chesson Hadley 17.70
Andrew Novak 19.80
Min Woo Lee 19.80
Erik Van Rooyen 19.80
Shane Lowry 19.80
Chris Kirk 21.10
Austin Eckroat 21.10
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The World Number 2 opened with a 67 on Thursday and, a late three-putt notwithstanding, looked in good nick. He’s the current 6.00 market leader from American Cameron Young who fired nine birdies in an opening round of 65 at Palm Beach. The big-hitting New Yorker will be dangerous on the par 5s all week and should probably be favourite at this stage. He remains a maiden on tour however, and I’d be wary of taking him at singles figures until he’s over the line and a winner on tour.
Horses For Courses
The three I like at this stage are Shane Lowry (19.80), Chesson Hadley (17.70) and defending Champion Chris Kirk (21.10). The latter showed tremendous bottle to end an eight-year winless run here last year and arrives with fond memories. Kirk is one of the best ball-strikers on the planet and will be disappointed with his opening 67. Kirk was -5 through his first 7 holes but struggled on the back-nine – making some uncharacteristic errors. His double at 17 (his ninth hole) after finding the drink took the wind out of his sails, but he held on well and will come back again this evening.
Returning To Form
Shane Lowry plain loves Florida and sees it as his home since moving from Offaly many years ago. Lowry has undergone several changes to his swing, and indeed the man on the bag, the last 12 months but his results show he is slowly returning to the form that won him The Claret Jug in 2019. A poor final round ruined a good week in Phoenix, and the week prior he finished T25 in tough conditions at Torrey Pines. Shane should be winning again on tour in 2024.
The final selection is Chesson Hadley – who we put up at a big price last week. Hadley disappointed over the last 18 holes when his putter went cold but is clearly in good nick and opened with a 65 on Day 1 of The Cognizant in a bogey-free round. He looks too big for a player I remain adamant is one of the biggest examples of untapped potential on tour.
Selections
Chesson Hadley at 17.70 with kwiff
Shane Lowry at 19.80 with kwiff
Chris Kirk at 21.10 with kwiff
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By Jack Milner
