Jake Knapp had the lowest pre-tournament odds of any winner on the PGA Tour this year. Let that sink in for a minute. In what has been an incredible year for Cinderella stories, the betting world definitely needs a shift in landscape. With less than seven weeks until the Masters and just two weeks to The Players Championship, we are all excited the Tour has traveled to Florida for the Cognizant Classic.
Known for decades as the Honda Classic, the home venue since 2007 is the Champion course at PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The Champion is best known for a three-hole stretch on the back nine called the “Bear Trap.” The par-3 15th, par-4 16th, and par-3 17th make up this terrible trio of holes. Oddly enough, there is another three-hole stretch on the front nine (Nos. 5-7) that play even more difficult against par.
The average winning score at the Cognizant Classic over the past 10 years is 9 under par. (Remember last year when our pick Chris Kirk (+3000) took home the trophy!) One of the most difficult tests on Tour outside of the majors, the field of 144 players better bring their ballstriking skills. A purse of $9 million is available for the top 65 and ties who play the weekend. Thirteen of the top 40 in the OWGR are listed which is far better than the strength of field I witnessed one year ago.
