The PGA Tour wrapped up its West Coast swing to start 2026, including events in Hawaii, Arizona, and four in California, ending with Jacob Bridgeman getting his first PGA Tour win last weekend.
Now, we move to Florida with the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches — formerly the Honda Classic — this weekend, played at Jack Nicklaus’ PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens.
Florida courses bring flatter, tighter, water-covered holes with wind from the Atlantic Ocean.
But of all that, the most important difference between California and Florida golf is the greens. We go from Poa annua grass to Bermuda. While making PGA Tour picks is a lot more than just the greens, it does affect how we'll make our predictions.
Let's break down our Cognizant Classic picks and predictions, plus payouts for the PGA Tour event for PrizePicks Team Picks, where you can earn money if you're right by picking golfers to win, finish top 5, top 10, and more.
2026 Cognizant Classic Picks, Predictions, Payouts for PGA Tour
The last six Cognizant Classic winners have emerged from deep in the field:
- Keith Mitchell – 2019, first tour win
- Sungjae Im – 2020, first tour win
- Matt Jones – 2021, second tour win
- Sepp Straka – 2022, first tour win
- Chris Kirk – 2023, first tour win in eight years
- Austin Eckroat – 2024, first tour win
- Joe Highsmith – 2025, first tour win
Could we see another golfer get their first PGA Tour win this weekend? Here are the top 10 favorites to win the 2026 Cognizant Classic, via PrizePicks Team Picks, including their payouts if they win the tournament.
- Shane Lowry - 14.28x Payout ($100 pays out $1,428)
- Ryan Gerard - 14.28x
- Michael Thorbjornsen - 16.66x
- Nicolai Hojgaard - 16.66x
- Rasmus Hojgaard - 16.66x
- Daniel Berger - 22.22x
- Will Zalatoris - 22.22x
- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen - 22.22x
- Alex Smalley - 22.22x
- Davis Thompson - 22.22x
All Team Picks payouts are live as of publishing, but are subject to change.
2026 Cognizant Classic Payouts
After consecutive Signature Events that paid out $20M in purse money per event, the Cognizant Classic has a total purse of $9.6M. Here are the top 10 payouts for the weekend event:
- 1st place - $1.78M
- 2nd place - $1.046M
- 3rd place - $662.4K
- 4th place - $470.4K
- 5th place - $393.6K
- 6th place - $348K
- 7th place - $324K
- 8th place - $300K
- 9th place - $280.8K
- 10th place - $261.6K
2026 Cognizant Classic Picks, Predictions to Win
Here are four golfers to consider for your 2026 Cognizant Classic picks on PrizePicks Team Picks. Also listed are payouts for each golfer to win, place top five, and top 10.
Shane Lowry
Shane Lowry Cognizant Classic Winner Payout: Yes 14.28x ($100 pays out $1,428)
Top 5 Payout: Yes 4.34x | No 1.14x
Top 10 Payout: Yes 2.94x | No 1.4x
- Shane Lowry has done everything but win this event, finishing runner-up in 2022, tied for fifth in 2023, fourth in 2024, and 11th last year.
- Lowry was the 54-hole leader in 2024, but did not close in the rainy conditions.
- He only has one win since the 2019 Open title, but he been all over the leaderboards at multiple events, but none more than PGA National.
- He's not only tops in course history over the last five years at PGA National, but he's top 10 in shots gained total across the Florida Swing, which includes the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship, and Valspar Championship in Tampa.
- The Irishman is 19th on Tour in approach shots and 18th on approaches from 175-to-200 yards, which will be a key metric this week.
{{core_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}
Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka Cognizant Classic Winner Payout: Yes 33.33x
Top 5 Payout: Yes 10x | No 1.01x
Top 10 Payout: Yes 6.66x | No 1.11x
- Figuring out what has gone right and wrong for Brooks Koepka in his first two starts back on the Tour is relatively easy. He has hit the ball very well, hence why he is 22nd in shots gained on approach, sixth around the greens, and 11th tee-to-green through those six rounds.
- However, the putting has been awful. He's ranked 171st on Tour in putting and has already swapped out putters once.
- What can also solve his putting problem? Maybe getting away from Poa and playing on Bermuda — which he'll play on this weekend — will help.
- A virtual home game for the Florida native, Koepka has a runner-up finish here back in 2019 and a tie for 16th in his last visit in 2022.
- He's also in the top 10 in the field in shots gained total in the Florida swing of courses.
Ryan Gerard
Ryan Gerard Cognizant Classic Winner Payout: Yes 14.28x
Top 5 Payout: Yes 4.76x | No 1.17x
Top 10 Payout: Yes 3.03x | No 1.38x
- Ryan Gerard finished fourth on this course in 2023 and tied for 25th last year, bringing course pedigree at PGA National.
- Gerard is eighth in shots gained on approach, 15th from 175-to-200 yards out, 16th overall and 19th shot gained tee-to-green.
- The UNC product has made the cut in all five events this season, with two runner-up finishes and a tie for 11th.
- A 69-67 weekend at the Genesis got Gerard a tie for 28th after a poor start.
Lee Hodges
Cognizant Classic Winner Payout: Yes 33.33x
Top 5 Payout: Yes 12.5x
Top 10 Payout: Yes 7.14x
- The last seven winners of the Cognizant Classic (formerly Honda Classic) have come from deep on the board, and Lee Hodges fits that description, as he is nowhere near the favorites.
- Hodges recorded a tie for ninth and tie for 14th in his first two starts at PGA National before missing the cut in 2024.
- The University of Alabama product is one of the top 20 in the field on Bermuda greens and ninth overall in putting on Tour.
- He finished last season with a fourth-place finish and started this season with a sixth-place finish in Hawaii.
Make PGA Tour Cognizant Classic Picks on PrizePicks
After two straight Signature Events in California, the PGA Tour heads to Florida for the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.
Can Brooks Koepka earn a win in his third start back on Tour? Or will a new name surface, as has been the case the last few years at this event from PGA National Resort?
You can make your Cognizant Classic picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money. Just pick golfers, predict More or Less on their projected stats, like birdies, round score, and more, and cash in if you’re correct.
With Team Picks, make predictions on tournament winners and top five or 10 finishes, now available in 34 states.
Keep dialed in on Playbook for more PGA Tour picks, predictions, and analysis for every tournament.
