Things get rocky in Florida this week as the PGA Tour heads to South Florida for the newly named Cognizant Classic. The tournament, formerly known as the Honda Classic, has changed sponsors.
Held at PGA National’s Champion Course, this South Florida gem is sure to challenge players. This year’s new sponsors are quickly seeing a huge return on their investment, as the field is the best this tournament has seen in a long time.
The star of the field will be Rory McIlroy, making his first start in this competition since 2018.
All information for this week’s full field event can be found here.
Recognized classical information:
where: PGA National Resort: Champion Course (Par 71 7,147 yards)
when: February 29th – March 3rd, 2024
wallet: $9,00,000 / 1st place: $1,620,000
FedEx Cup Points: 500
Defending champion: chris kirk
Photo by Aaron Gilbert/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
How to watch Cognizant Classic:
This week, NBC and Golf Channel will share televised coverage of the Cognizant Classic. Golf Channel will broadcast the first two rounds and air early tee times throughout the weekend. Luke Donald becomes the latest person to sit in the analyst chair as the station continues its search for Paul Azinger’s replacement.
Golf has returned to the East Coast after a nearly two-month hiatus from the West Coast.
The full schedule is below.
Thursday, February 29th: 2-6pm ET (Golf Channel)
Friday, March 1st: 2-6pm ET (Golf Channel)
Saturday, March 2nd: 1-3pm ET (Golf Channel). 3:00pm to 6:00pm ET (NBC)
Sunday March 3rd: 1-3pm ET (Golf Channel). 3:00pm to 6:00pm ET (NBC)
How to stream Cognizant Classic:
ESPN+ will offer a stream of Cognizant Classic starting at 6:45 a.m. ET. The network also provides daily coverage of notable groups.
ESPN+ main feed broadcast times are:
Thursday, February 29th:
Stream 1: Main feed (6:45am-2pm ET). Featured (2pm to 6pm);
Stream 2: Marquee (7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. ET). Special feature (2pm to 6pm)
Stream 3: Featured (7:15 a.m. – 2 p.m. ET). Featured Holes (2pm to 6pm)
Stream 4: Featured Holes (7:45am-6pm ET)
Friday, March 1st:
Stream 1: Main feed (6:45am-2pm ET). Featured (2pm to 6pm);
Stream 2: Marquee (7:45 a.m. – 2 p.m. ET). Special feature (2pm to 6pm)
Stream 3: Featured (7:15 a.m.-2:00 p.m. ET). Featured Holes (2pm to 6pm)
Stream 4: Featured Holes (7:45am-6pm ET)
Saturday, March 2nd:
Stream 1: Main feed (6:45am-1pm ET). Featured (1pm to 6pm);
Stream 2: Marquee (7:45 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET). Special feature (1pm to 6pm)
Stream 3: Featured (7:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET). Featured Holes (1pm to 6pm)
Stream 4: Featured Holes (7:45am-6pm ET)
Sunday March 3rd:
Stream 1: Main feed (6:45am-1pm ET). Featured (1pm to 6pm);
Stream 2: Marquee (7:45 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET). Special feature (1pm to 6pm)
Stream 3: Featured (7:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET). Featured Holes (1pm to 6pm)
Stream 4: Featured Holes (7:45am-6pm ET)
Peacock will simulcast Golf Channel broadcasts throughout the four days.Reports can be streamed peacock here.
Cognizant Classic Featured/Marquee Group
Thursday
marquee group
7:40 a.m. ET — Rory McIlroy, Chris Kirk, Jake Knapp (10th tee)
Featured groups
7:29 a.m. ET — Camilo Villegas, Shane Lowry, Mathieu Pavon (10th tee)
7:51 a.m. ET — Cameron Young, Akshay Bhatia, Nick Dunlap (10th tee)
ESPN+ Bonus Coverage
stream 2
12:51 PM ET — Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Tom Kim (1st tee)
stream 3
12:29 p.m. ET — Russell Henry, Eric Cole, Daniel Berger (1st tee)
12:40 PM ET — Rickie Fowler, Sungjae Im, Sepp Straka (1st tee)
Featured holes
No. 5 (par 3). No. 7 (par 3). No. 15 (par 3). No.17 (par 3)
Friday
marquee group
7:51 a.m. ET — Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Tom Kim (10th tee)
Featured groups
7:29 a.m. ET — Russell Henry, Eric Cole, Daniel Berger (10th tee)
7:40 a.m. ET — Rickie Fowler, Sungjae Im, Sepp Straka (10th tee)
ESPN+ Bonus Coverage
stream 2
12:40pm ET — Rory McIlroy, Chris Kirk, Jake Knapp (1st Tee)
stream 3
12:29 p.m. ET — Camilo Villegas, Shane Lowry, Matthew Pavon (1st tee)
12:51 PM ET — Cameron Young, Akshay Bhatia, Nick Dunlap (1st tee)
Featured holes
No. 5 (par 3). No. 7 (par 3). No. 15 (par 3). No.17 (par 3)
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Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Cognizant Classic preview:
This week’s PGA National will host its second consecutive full-field event, following next week’s signature event, the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Bear Trap is looking to ruin your round this week as all three holes have water.
South Florida has so many big names, with five top 10 golfers, 11 top 30 golfers and 19 top 50 golfers in the world playing in the Cognizant Classic.
McIlroy, the 2012 champion, will be making his 10th start in this tournament and third PGA Tour start of the year. He’s scheduled to win Monday at Capital One’s The Match at The Park. He won the most skins through his 12 holes and raised over $2 million for charity.
McIlroy hasn’t played well in the U.S. so far this season, but this golf course has created a good environment for him.
Defending champion Chris Kirk is back to become the first man to retain his title this year. He has already been in charge of one tournament this year after winning with Sentry.
Eric Cole, who finished runner-up to Kirk in the playoffs at PGA National, is back for revenge. He is also a good player on this course and was finally able to get over the hump. Rickie Fowler is competing in the event after sitting out last year. He won in 2017 and was runner-up in 2019.
Ryder Cup teammates Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Sepp Straka will also tee up in the first Florida Swing event.
Cognizant Classic Round 1 Tee Time (ET):
Tee No.1
6:45 am – Byung Hung Ahn, Callum Talen, Dylan Wu
6:56am – Tyler Duncan, Ryan Palmer, Jonathan Vegas
7:07am – CT Pan, Mark Hubbard, Sam Stevens
7:18am – KH Lee, Chad Ramey, Keith Mitchell
7:29am – Nick Hardy, Kevin Kisner, JB Holmes
7:40am – JT Poston, Francesco Molinari, Brant Snedeker
7:51 a.m. – Davis Riley, Ryan Brehm, Zach Johnson
8:02am – Bo Hossler, Sam Ryder, Doug Jim
8:13am – Garrick Higo, Matt Nesmith, Matty Schmidt
8:24am – Cheson Hadley, Justin Hsu, Ben Coles
8:35am – Chan Kim, Chandler Phillips, Tyler Collette
8:46 am – Jacob Bridgman, Rico Hoey, Chase Johnson
11:45am – Grayson Sig, SH Kim, Ryan Fox
11:56 a.m. – Patton Kizzia, Kevin Streelman, Tyson Alexander
12:07pm – Lant Griffin, Denny McCarthy, Minwoo Lee
12:18pm – Tom Hoge, Brendon Todd, Matt Kuchar
12:29pm – Russell Henry, Daniel Berger, Eric Cole
12:40pm – Sepp Straka, Rickie Fowler, Sungjae Im
12:51pm – Tom Kim, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose
1:02pm – Aaron Baddeley, Padraig Harrington, Justin Lower
1:13pm – Taylor Pendrith, Joseph Bramlett, Ben Taylor
1:24pm – Paul Burgeon, Patrick Fishburne, Fred Biondi
1:35pm – Robert McIntyre, Pierceson Coody, Norman Xiong
1:46pm – Victor Perez, Alejandro Tosti, Rasmus Højgaard
tee number 10
6:45 am – Ben Martin, Maverick McNeely, Andrew Novak
6:56am – Ryan Moore, Austin Eckrot, Harry Hall
7:07am – Alex Smalley, Hayden Buckley, Davis Thompson
7:18am – Corey Connors, Matt Wallace, Billy Horschel
7:29am – Mathieu Pavon, Camilo Villegas, Shane Lowry
7:40am – Jake Knapp, Chris Kirk, Rory McIlroy
7:51am – Nick Dunlap, Akshay Bhatia, Cameron Young
8:02am – Michael Kim, Stefan Jaeger, Thomas Detrie
8:13am – Peter Malnati, Bud Corey, Brandon Wu
8:24am – Sami Valimaki, Jimmy Stanger, Adrian Dumont de Chassard
8:35 am – Ryo Hisatsune, Jorge Campillo, Max Glaserman
8:46 am – Alexander Bjork, Parker Coody, Michael Grich
11:45am – Martin Laird, Christian Bezuidenhout, Ben Griffin
11:56am – Robbie Shelton, Taylor Montgomery, David Lipsky
12:07pm – Troy Merritt, Jeff Overton, Zach Blair
12:18pm – Luke List, Lee Hodges, Joel Damen
12:29pm – Lucas Glover, Adam Svensson, Gary Woodland
12:40pm – Erik van Rooyen, Nico Echavarria, Adam Schenk
12:51pm – Vincent Norman, Cameron Champ, Scott Stallings
1:02pm – Alex Nolen, Kevin Yu, Carl Yuan
1:13pm – Nate Lashley, Robert Garrigus, Carson Young
1:24pm – Thorbjorn Olesen, Chris Gotterup, David Skins
1:35pm – Joe Highsmith, Mac Meisner, Chris Crawford
1:46 p.m. – Ben Silverman, Nicholas Lindheim, Braden Shattuck
Cognizant Classic Round 2 Tee Time (ET):
Tee No.1
6.45am – Martin Laird, Christian Bezuidenhout, Ben Griffin
6:56am – Robbie Shelton, Taylor Montgomery, David Lipsky
7:07am – Troy Merritt, Jeff Overton, Zach Blair
7:18am – Luke List, Lee Hodges, Joel Damen
7:29am – Lucas Glover, Adam Svensson, Gary Woodland
7:40am – Erik van Rooyen, Nico Echavarria, Adam Schenk
7:51am – Vincent Norman, Cameron Champ, Scott Stallings
8:02am – Alex Nolen, Kevin Yu, Carl Yuan
8:13am – Nate Lashley, Robert Garrigus, Carson Young
8:24am – Thorbjørn Olesen, Chris Gotterup, David Skinns
8:35am – Joe Highsmith, Mac Meisner, Chris Crawford
8:46 am – Ben Silverman, Nicholas Lindheim, Braden Shattuck
11:45am – Ben Martin, Maverick McNeely, Andrew Novak
11:56am – Ryan Moore, Austin Eckrot, Harry Hall
12:07pm – Alex Smalley, Hayden Buckley, Davis Thompson
12:18pm – Corey Connors, Matt Wallace, Billy Horschel
12:29pm – Matthew Pavon, Camilo Villegas, Shane Lowry
12:40pm – Jake Knapp, Chris Kirk, Rory McIlroy
12:51pm – Nick Dunlap, Akshay Bhatia, Cameron Young
1:02pm – Michael Kim, Stefan Jaeger, Thomas Detrie
1:13pm – Peter Malnati, Bud Corey, Brandon Wu
1:24pm – Sami Valimaki, Jimmy Stanger, Adrian Dumont de Chassard
1:35 pm – Ryo Hisatsune, Jorge Campillo, Max Glaserman
1:46 pm – Alexander Bjork, Parker Coody, Michael Grich
tee number 10
6:45am – Grayson Sig, SH Kim, Ryan Fox
6:56 a.m. – Patton Kizzia, Kevin Streelman, Tyson Alexander
7:07am – Lant Griffin, Denny McCarthy, Minwoo Lee
7:18am – Tom Hoge, Brendon Todd, Matt Kuchar
7:29am – Russell Henry, Daniel Berger, Eric Cole
7:40am – Sepp Straka, Rickie Fowler, Sungjae Im
7:51am – Tom Kim, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose
8:02am – Aaron Baddeley, Padraig Harrington, Justin Lower
8:13am – Taylor Pendrith, Joseph Bramlett, Ben Taylor
8:24am – Paul Burgeon, Patrick Fishburne, Fred Biondi
8:35am – Robert McIntyre, Pierceson Coody, Norman Xiong
8:46am – Victor Perez, Alejandro Tosti, Rasmus Hojgaard
11:45 am – Byung Hung Ahn, Callum Talen, Dylan Wu
11:56am – Tyler Duncan, Ryan Palmer, Jonathan Vegas
12:07pm – CT Pan, Mark Hubbard, Sam Stevens
12:18pm – KH Lee, Chad Ramey, Keith Mitchell
12:29pm – Nick Hardy, Kevin Kisner, JB Holmes
12:40pm – JT Poston, Francesco Molinari, Brant Snedeker
12:51pm – Davis Riley, Ryan Brehm, Zach Johnson
1:02pm – Bo Hossler, Sam Ryder, Doug Jim
1:13pm – Garrick Higo, Matt Nesmith, Matty Schmidt
1:24pm – Cheson Hadley, Justin Hsu, Ben Coles
1:35pm – Chan Kim, Chandler Phillips, Tyler Collette
1:46 p.m. – Jacob Bridgman, Rico Hoey, Chase Johnson
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.If you want to know more about golf, please follow us. @_PlayingThrough On all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
