The 2025 Cognizant Classic, formerly known as the Honda Classic, is set to commence from Thursday 27th February at the renowned PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
This tournament marks the beginning of the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing, a series of events that includes the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship.
The Cognizant Classic is celebrated for its challenging layout, particularly the “Bear Trap” – holes 15 through 17 – which are among the most demanding stretches on the PGA Tour. The course, designed by Jack Nicklaus, is a par 71 measuring 7,167 yards. Notably, the 10th hole was converted from a par 4 to a par 5 in 2024, now stretching 550 yards.
We’ve seen a recent upwards trend in our predictions based on the results of the last two PGA Tour tournaments. C.T. Pan made the cut last week at the Mexico Open, while Aaron Rai found himself leading the competition, only to finish in a tie for 4th place come Sunday evening. We’re hoping this week, we can continue the trend and aim for a top 3 place.
Min Woo Lee – 33/1
Our first pick to perform at the Cognizant this year is Australia’s Min Woo Lee – officially the “coolest” golfer on tour.
Lee is in great form heading into this upcoming week, with three straight top-50 finishes, two of which in the top-20. He’s shot 71 or better in 10 of his last 12 rounds on tour, with impressive finishes at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the WM Phoenix Open.
While he didn’t card a spectacular score at Torrey Pines in the Genesis Invitational, astonishingly, Min Woo has only missed three cuts on tour in the last 14 months.
The Aussie has enjoyed playing at the PGA National Members Club, finishing T26 in 2023, and carded a 14-under par for T2 at the Cognizant in 2024 – three shots off winner Austin Eckroat.
The 2024 Presidents Cup team member is hunting his first PGA Tour event win, but has proven he’s more than capable of performing on the elite stage of golf.
Seamus Power – 66/1
Our outsider pick this week for the Cognizant Classic is Seamus Power. While he hasn’t made an appearance at the Cognizant for over five years, we think he could return with a bang, putting his previous results at the PGA National to rest.
Power has found some form in his last three tournaments, making all three cuts and finishing under-par at the AT&T, Phoenix and Genesis Open while in the top-40 of the field.
Albeit a few years since doing so, Power is no stranger to winning tournaments on tour. He lifted the trophy at the 2021 Barbasol Championship and 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship so he has some experience in the business end of events – especially having beaten J.T. Poston in a playoff.
If, understandably, you’re not quite convinced yet, let us reassure you with the following fact: an Irishman has finished in the top 5 places for the last three consecutive years at the Cognizant Classic. While that Irishman was Shane Lowry, we can envision some shared Irish luck this weekend in Florida.
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