Horse For The Course: PGA DFS Course History - 2025 Cognizant Classic

We are finally through the PGA Tour's West Coast swing that ended this past week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The country's national open was a snooze fest for much of the tournament until an exciting final day that ended in one of the craziest playoffs you will ever see, as Brian Campbell finally earned a professional victory after 10 years of struggle between various tours. It's as good a story as you'd hope to have in such a weak field, and it will be interesting to see what he can do with the opportunity for the rest of the season.

All focus now turns to the Sunshine State for the next four weeks, which hosts two of the biggest pre-Masters events in the AP Invitational and The Players Championship. But first, a stop at PGA National for the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens is on the docket. A longtime event that has gone through many names and venues, this is oftentimes the start of a few different names cluttering the leaderboards as we move to the more typical golf grasses of South Florida. So, it will be important to identify the horses in this change of environment.

Horse For The Course is an article highlighting players in this week's field with elite course history and is part of our free PGA DFS content here at RotoBaller. For some of the favorite DFS plays of the week check, out the Core Four article written by my buddy, Joe Nicely here at RotoBaller every Wednesday. It's part of our amazing PGA Premium package that includes an all-new PGA Research Station, Lineup Builder & Optimizer, and some of the best articles in the PGA DFS industry! You can sign up now using Promo Code: TDG for an extra discount at checkout!

2025 Cognizant Classic

Like we saw last week in Mexico, most of the world's top talent is choosing to skip this event in preparation for the two-week stretch that follows at Arnie's place and TPC Sawgrass. However, it is still miles better than who played at Vidanta Vallarta with guys like Shane Lowry, Billy Horschel, and Sungjae Im planning to tee it up Thursday.

Scores at this event can vary greatly depending on the severity of the wind, but for the most part, they typically stay north of -10 under par. That is difficult scoring for a non-major or even non-signature event and another reason why many top players avoid this place. That being said, players who win this tournament usually go on to have successful years and beyond, so even if none of your favorite players are competing this week, it is still an important event to pay attention to.

While the two weeks following the Cognizant are the real meat and potatoes of the Florida Swing, there are still plenty of reasons to pay attention over these four days. Even if the field isn't the most appealing in terms of recognizable names, PGA National has a knack for giving us incredible moments down the stretch. The finishing par-5 18th hole has produced some electrifying moments, as anyone within three shots of the lead can do some crazy stuff on the reachable second shot given they hit a good drive.

You can find out who the smart money is on by checking out Spencer Aguiar's PGA DFS: Vegas Report every week. And be sure to read our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS articles and Player News/Matchup Outlook Posts to help you win big!

PGA National Resort (Champion Course)

Par 71- 7,167 | Greens: Tifeagle Bermudagrass | Designed By: Tom Fazio

Given the unforgiving wind and demanding approaches, The Champion Course at PGA National is ball-striker-centric. 125-200 yards made up 62.9% of all approach shots last season while strokes gained on approach made up 0.650 of the total strokes gained average of 1.966.

For many players, especially those more unfamiliar with golf in South Florida, adjusting to the grainy bermuda surfaces can be a challenge, both in reading greens and playing pitch/chip shots around them. The path to success for most past winners has been hitting a ton of greens in regulation and avoiding around-the-green scenarios as much as possible. Last year's champion, Austin Eckroat is a prime example, as he led the field last year in GIR at 81.9%

The top-down view of holes shows a glaring theme that better explains what works here. 11 of the 18 holes, but most importantly, the final eight holes are all designed to penalize players for missing right. This could be a major reason draw-biased players (Chris Kirk and Keith Mitchell being recent examples) have had so much success here.

Recent Cognizant Classic Winners

• 2024: Austin Eckroat (-17)
• 2023: Chris Kirk (-14)
• 2022: Sepp Straka (-10)
• 2021: Matt Jones (-12)
• 2020: Sungjae Im (-6)

The Horse

Shane Lowry

• Notable Finishes: 2nd ('22), T4 ('24), T5 ('23)

With 28 tournament rounds under his belt at PGA National, Shane Lowry is one of the more experienced players around this venue. However, it has only been the last three seasons that he has begun to play well, as his best finish before 2022 was a T21.

He's never missed the cut here in seven starts, and given his play to begin the year, it could be his week to get back in the winner's circle. The Irishman ranks inside the top 70 in all strokes gained metrics, and is one of the most accurate drivers off the tee, as he ranks 25th in driving accuracy (66.43%).

The Ponies

Sepp Straka

• Notable Finishes: 1st ('22), T5 ('23)

Back in the winner's circle 🏆
@SeppStraka wins by two @TheAmExGolf. pic.twitter.com/KSCZotZ4zI

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 20, 2025

There shouldn't be much surprise to see Sepp Straka here given his lengthy history of being one of the Tour's premier ball-strikers as well as a past champion. Consistency over his six starts is one thing keeping him from the top spot in this article, as the two notable finishes are the only ones worth mentioning.

He is much more comfortable putting on bermudagrass, as his strokes gained putting metrics seem to be far less detrimental to his placement finishes than other areas of the country. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back from a missed cut at the Genesis, where he lost strokes on approach for the first time this season. Luckily, Torrey Pines is a much different animal than PGA National and doesn't suit his shorter, accuracy-focused game.

Daniel Berger

• Notable finishes: 2nd ('15), 4th ('22), T4 ('20)

Cognizant Classic First Click ⛳️

Daniel Berger +2800

Expect Berger to be very popular this week (for good reason) and for this number to get nuked when all of the golf content creators release their picks over the next two days. pic.twitter.com/V0JVkSbCQf

— Steve P. (@StevePBets) February 24, 2025

The resurgence continues for Daniel Berger, as the former FSU golfer attempts to get back inside the top 50 in the world this week (currently ranked 52nd) for the first time since November 2022. It has been a successful start to the 2025 season, as he's coming off a T2 at the Phoenix Open and a solo 12th at the Genesis.

While most of his game is firing on all cylinders, his blend of accuracy and distance off the tee gives him a huge advantage against the field; ranking 62nd in driving distance (307.1) and 23rd in driving accuracy (66.52%). He also ranks 8th in par 4 scoring average (3.89) and 11th in bogey avoidance (11.11%), which is especially helpful on a difficult test like the Champion Course.

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Russell Henley

• Notable Finishes: 1st ('14), T3 ('21), T8 ('20)

Russell Henley with some SPIN on the ball on the slick Postage Stamp 8th green. 😳🌀

📺: NBC & @peacock | #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/eV2vGtwT5P

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 20, 2024

Like most of the guys in this article, Russell Henley has played in this event many times. He won an incredible four-man playoff here 11 years ago against Russell Knox, Rory McIlroy, and Ryan Palmer. A gutsy birdie on the first playoff hole earned him his second PGA Tour victory.

Given the current play he's shown to start 2025, another contention is in the cards this week, as the 35-year-old ranks 24th on the season in strokes gained on approach (+0.582) and putting (+0.537). He has also been one of the most accurate players this year, ranking 12th in driving accuracy (69.30%) and 36th in greens in regulation (72.22%).

Henley is a perfect fit for PGA National for his 9.21% right rough tendency, meaning that even his misses play away from most of the danger here. The only worry at this venue lies in his short game, as he's only gained strokes in three starts, though he shouldn't have too many worrisome predicaments if the ball striking stays solid.

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