The Florida Swing begins with the Cognizant Classic at the always-challenging PGA National this week, and our top golf picks have you covered for the action.
While Shane Lowry and Russell Henley are the co-betting favorites in the Cognizant Classic odds, I’m looking further down the board with my sleeper and longshot picks for this week’s showdown in the Sunshine State.
Cognizant Classic sleeper picks
- Davis Thompson to win outright (+4500 at bet365)
- Andrew Novak to win outright (+5500 at FanDuel)
- Lucas Glover to win outright (+6000 at FanDuel)
Picks were made on 2-25 at 12:45 p.m. ET.
Cognizant Classic sleeper predictions
Sleeper pick to win: Davis Thompson
+4500 at bet365
This is too long of a number to pass up for one of the best all-around players in the field, and Davis Thompson is coming off a solid T13 finish at The Genesis while gaining true strokes across the board.
He debuted at PGA National with a ho-hum T47 last season, but that included an opening-round 67 while pacing the field in true strokes gained tee-to-green. Additionally, dating back to his solid T9 in the U.S. Open last summer, he's fourth in this field in true strokes gained tee-to-green.
Sleeper pick to win: Andrew Novak
+5500 at FanDuel
While there’s definitely some hit-and-miss from week to week with Andrew Novak, he finished T9 here last season and is in a mini groove heading to PGA National this week.
He's gained true strokes across the board over his past four events and did the same across all four rounds of the Cognizant Classic last year.
Given how difficult PGA National plays, I also value that he’s gained true strokes on and around the greens in each of the past four tournaments. The 29-year-old American is closing in on his first PGA Tour win.
Sleeper pick to win: Lucas Glover
+6000 at FanDuel
This will be the 15th trip to this event for Lucas Glover, and he’s played the weekend each of the past three years in addition to having a pair of T4s at PGA National on his resume (2013 and 2019).
He’s a ball-striking machine and ranks fourth in this field in true strokes gained tee-to-green, including ranking second on approach and seventh in driving accuracy across his past 10 events. He also ranks 29th in true strokes gained putting and has a trio of T3s during the stretch.
