Todd Fleming focusing on fans at PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic
Todd Fleming takes over as PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic executive director at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens.
- The tournament’s field strength improved in 2024 and 2025 due to a more favorable schedule, attracting higher-ranked players.
- The Cognizant Classic’s $9.2 million purse in 2025 is significantly lower than the $20 million+ purses of surrounding tournaments.
A shift in the calendar has helped the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches boost its field the last two years.
But 2026 does not offer that extra week between the start of the season and the Masters, one that allowed the PGA Tour to separate the final tournament on the West Coast and Cognizant in 2024 and 2025 with the Mexico Open.
Just like 2023, the PGA Tour has squeezed Cognizant between four tournaments with minimum purses of $20 million in 2026, arguably the worst spot on the schedule.
Cognizant, which is scheduled for Feb. 26-March 1 at PGA National and once again commences the Florida Swing, comes after two signature events — Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational — and prior to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a signature event, and The Players Championship.
Pebble Beach, Genesis and the API are expected to offer $20 million purses while The Players increased its purse to $25 million the last two years.
Cognizant’s purse in 2025: $9.2 million.
The official schedule will be released in August.
All of which means the progress Cognizant — and the PGA Tour’s Championship Management Division, which started running the event in 2024 — made the last two years is going to be a serious challenge to continue in 2026.
In 2022 and 2023, the then-Honda Classic field hit an all-time low with no golfers ranked in the top 10, and 17 from the top 50 combined.
Both years the tournament followed the Phoenix Open and Genesis and preceded the API and Players. Phoenix and Genesis were signature events in 2023.
Rory McIlroy played Cognizant in 2024; highest ranked player since 2016
With the calendar allowing an extra week between Genesis and Cognizant the last two years, the field improved with two top 10 golfers entering in 2024, including No. 2 Rory McIlroy, the highest-ranked player to take on the challenging Champion Course since 2016. And the depth improved dramatically this year with 28 from the top 70.
The field for the 2025 tournament was as deep as it has been in several years with 16 of the top 50 and 28 of the top 70. Still, several high-profile golfers who call Palm Beach County home skipped the event.
Convincing them to play in 2026 will be a bigger challenge.
Joe Highsmith won the 2025 Cognizant Classic with a tournament record 19-under.
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
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