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PGA Props Picks: Cognizant Classic Predictions

by Mike Allen - 2/27/2024

PGA props picks Cognizant Classic Eric Cole

Formerly known as the Honda Classic, the Cognizant Classic In The Palm Beaches is the first stop on the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing. We will be playing on a tremendously difficult golf course, the famed Champions Course at PGA National.

Holes 15, 16, and 17 are aptly named The Bear Trap. It's made up of a couple of par 3s and a par 4. There will be even more golfers developing night terrors after their scorecards get completely wrecked just as they are about to wrap up their round. The Bear himself, Jack Nicklaus, wasn't an original designer of the course, but he has reworked it a few times over the years.

The betting board is rather top-heavy, and by that I mean Rory McIlroy and everybody else is significantly below him. The uber-talented Cameron Young is in the field. He isn't one to back down from an intimidating course.

Apparently, most of the PGA Tour’s Top 50 can’t say the same. I guess Florida isn’t even warm enough this time of year.

From the perspective of a passionate golf fan, I imagine you would like to see many more of the best in the world playing on one of the best courses in the world.

From a betting perspective, however, these tournaments are the money-makers. I like to lean on some of the favorites in these situations. The course is not easy, and with moderate to high winds, a big chunk of lower-level golfers will fade.

Those with a championship mindset, experience, calm, and patience will be the ones who are successful on such a mind-bending golf course.

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Cognizant Classic Prop Bets

Matchups

Cameron Young (+100) vs Russell Henley (-120)

We talked about Young a bit already. This is a guy who was getting an incredible amount of hype as he was coming up into the professional ranks.

Some may disagree because he hasn’t put together a ton of wins, but he has very high finishes on some of the toughest courses in some of the thickest fields on the Tour.

I like his recent form as well. Young has finishes of 8, 16th, and 3rd in his previous three starts. He also took last week off and didn’t make the trip to Mexico.

I love the even money here on Young if you couldn’t tell.

What's going on with Russell Henley? He is usually a fairly consistent performer. It's been a few years since he played in this tournament, but the Georgia native has finished inside the top 8 in each of his two previous appearances.

Young has the talent, the youth, the cool head, and the leverage to dominate any tournament. He isn’t nearly as consistent as Mr. Henley. Take away a couple of bad showings, and we have to go all the way back to the Summer of last year to see Henley in a slump.

I will pay the juice here for consistency.

Pick: Henley

Jake Knapp (+109) vs Erik Van Rooyen  (-130)

This is a fade on Jake Knapp, more than anything. It seems like a few people have beaten us to it, but in the grand scheme of things, (-130) is not an expensive number.

Why fade Knapp here? Well, he is just days off his first career win on the PGA Tour. Yea, yea…I know he is in great form. I don’t care.

A veteran of the Canadian PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour, the Californian will be 30 in a couple of months. His win this past Sunday down in Puerto Vallarta was 100% the biggest and probably the best day of his life.

Well, his Sunday wasn't the best. That was the day he won, but he was the first golfer in the past 40 years to hit two or fewer fairways in their final round and win. If that wasn't enough on his nerves…

You get the point. The guy exhaled, and I don't think he wants to or can summon the inner will to compete this week on one of the PGA Tour's toughest tests.

I can’t believe the guy even made it out of Mexico.

Pick: Van Rooyen (-130)

Top 30 Eric Cole (-125)

Eric Cole is another guy a lot like Russell Henley in that we don't expect or hear much from them, but when we look back at the scores, we see missed opportunities.

That doesn’t mean we go chasing. I plan on letting the 35-year-old vet do all the work for us this weekend. I saved the best bet for last, guys.

Cole is a California guy, so some may question his ability and/or expertise on a Florida golf course. Not I, not after I googled Nova Southeastern University, his alma mater. What do you know?

South Florida. I love it. That has been a while, though. What about his course history?

He played here once. It was last year, and he finished 2nd. That is very impressive. Is he in form?

Well, I would say so. He has finished inside the top 21 in 5 of his previous 7 starts on the PGA Tour. This isn't a thick field of golfers, and I dig the calm of the Californian this weekend.

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