Football 
Tennis 
Horse Racing Cognizant Classic Tips: Bumper 161.00 Expert Pick For This Weekend’s Action
Cognizant Classic Tips: Thursday, February 29th
PGA National is the host venue for the Cognizant Classic. Our betting expert Duncan Campbell has prepared his Cognizant Classic tips for the 2024 edition of this tournament.
- Selection: C.T. Pan EW (1/4 1-5)
- Best Odds: 161.00
- Bookmaker: bet365
- Stakes: 1/10
Odds via bet365 as at 22.55 February 26th 2024. Odds may now differ.
Our Cognizant Classic tip is for C.T. Pan to win each way at odds of 160/1.
In this article:
Cognizant Classic Overview
Thursday, 29th February, 12:00 (UK)
The Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches certainly won’t win any prizes for the snappiest PGA Tour event name of 2024 but thankfully the name change is the only negative for the event formerly known as The Honda Classic.
The Champion course at PGA National retains its role as host course for the event, having hosted each Honda Classic since 2007. A George and Tom Fazio design, it has been tweaked since by Jack Nicklaus. One of the tougher courses on the PGA Tour, winning scores since the Nicklaus redesign in 2014 have been between six and fourteen under par.
As you would expect from a course in Florida, water hazards are a feature throughout PGA National. Conditions are generally breezy, with players who can control their ball flight at an advantage.
Historically a par 70, the par four tenth hole at PGA National’s Champion course has now been lengthened to a 530 yard par five and this week’s par adjusted to 71. That concession will be welcomed by the players but they must still negotiate the Bear Trap, a difficult three hole stretch from the 15th hole onwards. Players who navigate those three holes in level par for the week will be gaining ground on the field.
The weather forecast looks to have some scattered showers on the final two days but the weather shouldn’t be too much of a factor over the course of the four days.
Cognizant Classic Tips
Rory McIlroy commands clear favouritism at the head of the betting given Matt Fitzpatrick is the only other player inside the top ten of the world golf rankings to tee it up in Florida. Odds of 8.00 reflect the fact that McIlroy has been in solid, if unspectacular, form in 2024 and triumphed at this venue in 2012.
A playoff loss in 2014 further enhances McIlroy’s credentials but it is hard to ignore the fact that his three trips since Jack Nicklaus made changes to the course in 2014 have resulted in two missed cuts and a 59th place finish. I’m in no rush to make the world number two my Cognizant Classic tip in a tournament that doesn’t always go the way of the favourites.
Had Eric Cole not lost in a playoff to Chris Kirk at last year’s event, there would have been three winners in a row of this event who had started the week at odds of 71.00 or greater. Conditions can be tricky at PGA National and outsiders do have a chance of winning this event.
One outsider I can’t ignore this week is C.T. Pan, who is available to back at an industry best price of 161.00 with bet365. A winner on Tour in 2019 at the RBC Heritage, Pan isn’t always the most consistent of players. However, he is a player to watch when he shows signs of form, just as he demonstrated in 2023 when posting a fourth place finish at the AT&T Byron Nelson and following it up with a top three at the Canadian Open in his next start. That isn’t an uncommon trend looking back through his career, with strong performances occurring in clusters.
Last week’s third place finish in Mexico was therefore a performance that was particularly notable. Pan isn’t known for his long hitting and last week’s setup wasn’t one which should have suited. However, that lack of length off the tee clearly wasn’t an issue as he closed with rounds of 67-67-65 after opening with a round of level par on Thursday. The former amateur number one gained strokes with every area of his game in Mexico and posted some strong approach numbers in Sunday’s final round.
Seven of the last ten winners of this event have a prior top thirteen finish at this event and Pan matches that criteria with a more than solid course record. Three top twenty finishes from six starts at PGA National, including a third place finish in 2021, give him plenty of course credentials and he’s my favourite Cognizant Classic tip in the outright market.
Looking at the list of past winners of this event, it is hard to ignore the fact that this has been an event with a long list of international winners. Over the last twenty years, only eight players from the USA have lifted the trophy at PGA National and I’m inclined to think that trend continues given the Americans who are teeing it up this week. Cameron Young and Eric Cole are amongst the two shortest Americans in the betting and whilst both have fantastic tee to green games, they have yet to show themselves to be competent closers when in contention to win a tournament.
Seven of the last twenty events at PGA National have gone to players representing the ‘Rest of the World’ and odds of 4.00 with bet365 that one of these players lifts the trophy again looks to be a price worth taking. The aforementioned Pan fits into this category, as do five of the top twelve in the outright betting market. Those of you with a more cautious disposition may wish to have a small saver on a European winning at odds of 2.90 but I like the chances of the international players this week and the ‘Rest of the World’ in the Winning Nationality market is my favourite of the special markets this week.
- Selection: C.T Pan EW (1/4 1-5)
- Best Odds: 161.00
- Bookmaker: bet365
- Stakes: 1/10
Odds via bet365 as at 22.55 February 26th 2024. Odds may now differ.
SAFER GAMBLING
At bettingexpert, we always take a safe approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Safer Gambling hub.
