Golfers to watch at Cognizant Classic
Daniel Berger
Best Cognizant Classic finish: 2nd in 2015 (lost playoff to Padraig Harrington)
Daniel Berger hits his drive on the 13th hole during the third round of the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches at PGA National Resort & Spa on Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
Berger, the Jupiter resident and Dwyer High graduate, will make his 10th appearance at Cognizant since 2016, missing the 2021 and 2023 tournaments because of injury. Once No. 12 in the world ranking, Berger, 32, battled back issues in 2022 and 2023. He has started five events this year, with two top 20s; T6 at the Sony Open and T16 at the Phoenix Open. A four-time winner on the PGA Tour, Berger has three top-5 finishes at Cognizant, including his runner-up in his debut and placing fourth in 2020 and 2022. Berger is No. 62 in the world and No. 45 in the FedEx Cup standings.
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Ryan Gerard
Best Cognizant Classic finish: 4th in 2023
LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 31: Ryan Gerard of the United States plays his shot from the second tee during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open 2026 at Torrey Pines South Course on January 31, 2026 in La Jolla, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
Gerard is making his third Cognizant start. The 26-year-old from Jupiter is seventh on the FedEx Cup points list and No. 26 in the world after a strong start to season in which he was runner-up at the Sony Open and American Express. Gerard, a rookie in 2025, made news late in the season for traveling to the African island nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean to try to secure a last-minute ticket to his first Masters. He completed the mission with a runner-up finish, losing in a playoff, and moving to No. 46 in the world and a trip to Augusta in early April. Gerard finished T25 in last year’s Cognizant.
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Joe Highsmith
Best Cognizant Classic finish: Champion in 2025
Joe Highsmith poses with the trophy after winning the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches at PGA National Resort & Spa on Sunday, March 2, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
After missing the cut in his first Cognizant in 2024, Highsmith had one of the more stunning wins in 2025. Highsmith needed a 5-foot birdie putt on his last hole that Friday to make the cut before rallying with a pair of 64s on the weekend for his first PGA Tour title. He finished with a tournament record 19-under 265, two shots ahead of Jacob Bridgeman and J.J. Spaun. His win came after missing the cut in three of his first five events of the season. Highsmith, 25, could not carry that momentum into the season with one more top 10 (PGA Championship) and 16 missed cuts following his win at PGA National.
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Max Homa
Best Honda Classic finish: T20 in 2019
Max Homa plays his tee shot on the third hole during round one at the WM Phoenix Open on Feb. 5, 2026, at TPC Scottsdale.
Homa, 35, returns to PGA National for the first time since 2019. This is his third start, having missed the cut in 2015. Homa is coming off a rough year in which he had just two top 10 finishes in 24 starts and his world ranking has fallen to 150. He was ranked in the top 10 two years ago and reached a career high No. 5 in 2023. The Burbank, California, native has won six times on the PGA Tour, the most recent the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open. Homa has four starts this year, his highest finishes T27 at the American Express.
Billy Horschel
Best Cognizant Classic finish: T4 in 2017
Feb 27, 2025; Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA; Billy Horschel reacts to the crowd applause after making his putt on the third green the first round of the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
Horschel, the former Florida Gator, is making his 14th start, and fifth consecutive, at PGA National. The Brevard County native and Ponte Vedra Beach resident finished in the top 10 three times. Horschel, 39, has won eight times on the PGA Tour but missed six months in 2025 after having hip surgery in May. He returned to competitive golf in October and has played in five events this year, missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open and Phoenix Open and finishing in the top 30 in the American Express. His world ranking has dropped to 81st due to the injury.
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Brooks Koepka
Best Cognizant Classic finish: T2 in 2019
Brooks Koepka of the United States reacts to his putt on the tenth green during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open 2026 at Torrey Pines South Course on January 29, 2026 in La Jolla, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
The greatest golfer ever to come out of Palm Beach County is returning to his hometown event after a three-year layoff due to joining LIV Golf in 2022. The five-time major champion was reinstated to the PGA Tour after opting out of the final year of his LIV deal. He has played twice, finishing T56 at the Farmers Insurance Open and missing the cut at the Phoenix Open. Koepka, 35, will make his eighth start at Cognizant, his lone top 10 finish coming in 2019. A nine-time winner on the PGA Tour, Koepka is hoping to play his way into Signature Events through tournaments like Cognizant.
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Shane Lowry
Best Cognizant Classic finish: runner-up in 2022
Shane Lowry of The Bay Golf Club answers questions from the media after match with Atlanta Drive GC at SoFi Center on January 6, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Lowry, the Jupiter resident, will play Cognizant for the seventh straight year, and ninth time overall. He finished T11 a year ago, breaking a string of three consecutive top 5 finishes at PGA National. Lowry finished one shot behind champion Sepp Straka in 2022, with three consecutive 67s. Of his last 15 rounds at Cognizant, 12 have been in the 60s. The 38-year-old Irishman has three PGA Tour titles, including the 2019 British Open, and six DP World Tour wins. Lowry was T8 at Pebble Beach in his first PGA Tour start this season. He is No. 31 in the world.
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Aaron Rai
Best Cognizant Classic finish: T66 in 2022
![Aaron Rai tees off on the tenth hole during the second round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl. Friday March 14, 2025. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]](https://getonsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/a86eef545ad62f8b846112988ef2121b.jpeg)
Aaron Rai tees off on the tenth hole during the second round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl. Friday March 14, 2025. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]
Rai is making his third start at Cognizant and first since 2023 when he missed the cut. The 30-year-old Englishman joined the PGA Tour in 2022. He has won once on the PGA Tour — the 2024 Wyndham Championship — and three times on the DP World Tour. Since jumping to No. 22 in the world following that win at Wyndham in August of 2024, Rai has not fallen below No. 36. He currently is No. 32. Rai, who lives in Jacksonville and practices out of TPC Sawgrass, home of The Players Championship, is one of the few professional golfers to wear two gloves.
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Gary Woodland
Best Cognizant Classic finish: T2 in 2017
Gary Woodland speaks to reporters after receiving the PGA Tour Courage Award before the pro-am of the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches at PGA National Resort & Spa on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
Woodland, 41, is making his 12th Cognizant start. The Delray Beach resident has finished in the top 10 four times. In 2017, he was four shots behind winner Rickie Fowler. Last year he received the PGA Tour Courage Award at the Cognizant. Woodland has four career PGA Tour wins, including the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He has played the last two years after surgery in September 2023 to remove a lesion on his brain. Both years have been difficult as he continues to deal with symptoms. The Topeka, Kansas, native played in 22 events last year, his best finish a T2 at the Texas Children’s Open.
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Will Zalatoris
Best Honda Classic finish: First start
![Will Zalatoris stretches before teeing off on the first hole during the third round of The Players Championship PGA golf tournment Saturday, March 15, 2025 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://getonsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/69aa68451cefe08e8e53df844991c530.jpeg)
Will Zalatoris stretches before teeing off on the first hole during the third round of The Players Championship PGA golf tournment Saturday, March 15, 2025 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Zalatoris, 29, was No. 7 in the world and leading the FedEx Cup standings when he started developing back issues in in 2022, the year he was second in the PGA Championship and U.S. Open and a year after he was runner-up at the Masters. The back worsened, resulting in two surgeries: a microdiscectomy in April 2023, and two herniated discs being replaced in 2024. He starts this season much better physically and confident he can get back to his previous level. He makes his third start of the season at Cognizant, his best a T18 at the American Express.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Brooks Koepka, Shane Lowry head Cognizant Classic field
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