What a week it was for 31-year-old American Brian Campbell. The journeyman pro finally broke his PGA Tour duck, claiming his maiden tour title a decade after turning professional.
2025 US PGA Tour
Cognizant Classic
PGA National Champion Course, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
27th February- 2nd March
What a week it was for 31-year-old American Brian Campbell. The journeyman pro finally broke his PGA Tour duck, claiming his maiden tour title a decade after turning professional. And he did it in the most dramatic fashion possible, taking advantage of a huge slice of luck to prevail over South African Aldrich Potgieter in a playoff. He hit a wild tee-shot on the 2nd playoff hole, blasting it into a tree only for the ball to remarkably pop back out into the fairway. He went on to birdie the hole and secure his place at the upcoming Players, Masters and PGA Championship (not to mention the remaining Signature Events). The tour moves from Mexico to the Sunshine State for the latest edition of the Cognizant Classic (which was formerly known by monikers such as the Honda Classic and the Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic). Honda severed their sponsorship ties two years back, with Cognizant taking over chief sponsorship duties last year. The imposing PGA National Champion Course will host this event for the 19th successive season.
Designed by Tom and George Fazio, the Champions Course opened for business back in 1981 (though Jack Nicklaus has overseen a few redesigns). This parkland layout is one of the most respected- and possibly feared- courses on the entire tour (it hosted the 1983 Ryder Cup and the 1987 PGA Championship). This strategic, classical test requires accurate approach play and excellent scrambling. This is one of the year’s toughest non-major tests, with extensive bunkering and water hazards leading to plenty of danger. In fact, only seven winners have gone double-digits under par since 2007 (including last year’s winner, Austin Eckroat). The fast Tifeagle Bermuda greens require an extremely delicate touch. Holes 15-17, known colloquially as the ‘Bear Trap’, could prove decisive come Sunday. This is a course that won’t be bullied and will require some patience. While it is not a traditional links, PGA National is an exposed layout and links specialists tend to thrive here.
Shane Lowry leads a wide-open field this week, looking to finish the job after finishing runner-up at Pebble Beach. He has solid form and is a bit of a course specialist. Austrian Sepp Straka is the only player in the field who has already tasted victory this season (and he also happened to win this event back in 2022). There are actually a few former champions in the field, with Russell Henley, Keith Mitchell and Chris Kirk also looking to claim this title for a 2nd time. Sungjae Im was 21 when he won the title here back in 2020, making him the youngest ever winner of this event. He has hit a bumpy patch of form and could do with a solid result this week. Daniel Berger appears to be somewhat resurgent while Jordan Spieth will be looking to bounce back after missing the cut at Torrey Pines.
Past Winners
2024: Austin Eckroat (-17)
2023: Chris Kirk (-14) *playoff
2022: Sepp Straka (-10)
2021: Matt Jones (-11)
2020: Sungjae Im (-6)
2019: Keith Mitchell (-9)
Betting Favourites (To Win): Shane Lowry (20/1), Russell Henley (20/1), Sungjae Im (22/1), Daniel Berger (22/1), Sepp Straka (25/1)
Value Bets
Keith Mitchell- To Win (35/1)
Keith Mitchell looks like tremendous value at 35/1. This is a week where it’s perhaps best to back players who can avoid trouble. This season, Mitchell ranks 3rd on the PGA Tour in both Bogey Avoidance and Scrambling (which really bodes well for success here). Also, Mitchell is a bit of a course specialist, winning the title in 2019 and posting top ten finishes in each of his last two visits. The combination of course history and solid bogey avoidance stats make him a compelling pick this week.
Nicolas Echavarria- To Win (70/1)
I think that Echavarria could be a nice longshot option in the place markets. He missed the cut here on debut in 2023 but bounced back with a 21st place finish last year. He is playing quite solidly this year, with three top 35 finishes (including a playoff defeat to Nick Taylor at the Sony Open). The 30-year-old Colombian won last year’s ZOZO Championship and has the quality to compete this week.
The Man to Beat- Daniel Berger- To Win (22/1)
I’m really liking the look of former Ryder Cupper Daniel Berger. The Florida-native has played brilliantly at PGA National before, picking up a pair of top four finishes in 2020 and 2022. He came within a whisker of rejoining the winner’s circle at TPC Scottsdale, ultimately settling for a T2 finish. He followed that up with a T12 at the Genesis and his game is just trending nicely. He is a bit of a streaky putter but that is probably not the most important stat this week.
