2024 Cognizant Classic Betting Preview

Article ByKyle Garlett

February 28, 2024

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Posted in: US Sports Betting News, US Gambling News

The PGA Tour begins its Florida swing this week with its annual stop at the PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens. Formerly the Honda Classic, this is the first year for its new title sponsor, and its new name, the Cognizant Classic.

Along with the new name, the more than 50-year-old tournament has a new look, with PGA National undergoing a facelift since last season. The fairways are wider, the rough is less intimidating, the 10th hole has gone from a long par-4 to a short par-5, and the scores should be lower.

All of that has helped attract a strong field of contenders.

Favorites to Win Cognizant Classic

Rory McElroy (+800)

Cameron Young (+2200)

Russell Henley (+2500)

Eric Cole (+2500)

Matt Fitzpatrick (+2800)

Tom Kim (+2800)

Byeong-Hun An (+2800)

Shane Lowry (+3200)

J.T. Poston (+3300)

Sungjae Im (+3500)

Min Woo Lee (+3500)

Daniel Berger (+3500)

Stephan Jaeger (+3500)

Fresh off his win at The Match, in which he beat Max Homa and LPGA stars Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang, BetUS.com has made Rory McIlroy the heavy favorite. It was a good showing for McIlroy. But to come in paying only 36% of what the next-lowest golfer pays seems like poor value. His last win in the United States was in October of 2022 at the CJ Cup.

For nearly three times the payout, you can take Cameron Young, who finished T8 in Phoenix three weeks ago. In his one previous start at this tournament, he finished 16th, and with the new layout, his elite ball striking should lead to a better result.

Shane Lowry has been top 5 here in each of his last two appearances, and at +3300, he represents a great value play. He’s made $1.3 million just on this course, and he should enjoy the new, higher-scoring layout.

Right behind Lowry is Sungjae Im, the winner of this event in 2020. He also finished eighth in 2021. Also give Stephan Jaeger a look as he comes off a T3 last week at the Mexico Open. The 34-year-old German has improved each year he has played at PGA National, going from 78th in 2019 to 48th in 2022, and 14th last year.

Longshots To Consider

Andrew Novak isn’t thought of much by golf online sportsbooks. The 28-year-old has never won on Tour, and he’s at +13000 to win here. But with odds that long to win, it means that he is paying +2200 to finish top five, and +1000 to finish top 10. Considering that he finished T8 in Phoenix three weeks ago, and T8 last week in Mexico, Novak becomes an intriguing choice.

C.T. Pan is another +13000 golfer that offers really good value compared to his recent level of play. He’s at +2500 to finish top five and +1100 to finish top 10, which are really high numbers for someone who just went T3 in Mexico. He also finished third at PGA National in 2021.

Other longshots worth a second look are Robert McIntyre, paying +13000/+2200/+1000 despite finishing T6 last week in Mexico. Billy Horschel is paying +11000/+2000/+900. But he comes into this weekend with two top 10 finishes in his career at PGA National.