Most states celebrate the first day of summer somewhere in the middle of June, but the Sunshine State celebrates the beginning of summer when the PGA Tour comes to town for the 2024 Cognizant Classic (formerly the Honda), Feb 29-Mar 3, at the PGA National’s Champion Course here in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
It’s the first of the tour’s four-stop Florida Swing with the Arnold Palmer Invitational (Orlando), The Players Championship (Jacksonville), and the Valspar Championship (Tampa) to follow.
This year’s prestigious 2024 Classic had a new sponsor “Cognizant,” which is a multi-national Information Technology services and consulting company. It replaced the Honda Corporation which sponsored the Classic from 2007-2023.
The 144-player field featured a number of returning champions including Chris Kirk (2023), Sepp Straka (2022), Sungjae Im (2020), Rickie Fowler (2017), Padraig Harrington (2015, 2005), Russell Henley (2014), Rory McIlroy (2012), Camilo Villegas (2010) and the oldest returning winner Matt Kuchar (2003).
The purse at the Cognizant Classic was $9 million with $1.62 million going to the winner, who will also receive 500 FedEx Cup points.
History
The storied past of the newly named Cognizant Classic goes all the way back to the National Airlines Open Invitational from 1969 to 1971 at the Country Club of Miami in Hialeah, Florida. It was replaced by The Gleason Tournament in 1973 and moved to the Inverrary Country Club in Lauderhill. It was one of the tour’s riches events with a $260,000 purse and a $52,000 first-place check. Jackie Gleason’s nine-year affiliation ended after the 1980 season.
The 1981 event was renamed “American Motors Inverrary Classic” then changed to the “Honda Inverrary Classic” the following year after a switch in sponsors. From 1992 to 2006 the tournament moved around southern Florida, but in 2007 the Honda Classic settled into its current home on the Champions Course at the PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens.
In 1986, Kenny Knox (66, 71 80 72) won the Honda Classic. He was the first Monday qualifier to win on the PGA Tour and is the only player to win with a round of 80.
Rory McIlroy won the 2012 Honda Classic over Tiger Woods and Tom Gillis to claim the No. 1 spot in the World Official Golf Rankings (OWGR). Brian Harman posted a course record 61 in the second round.
The 2023 edition saw Chris Kirk win the “last” Honda Classic in extra holes over Eric Cole.
Four players have won the Classic more than once: Jack Nicklaus: 1977, 1978. Johnny Miller: 1980, 1983. Mark Calcavecchia: 1987, 1998. Padraig Harrington: 2005, 2015.
The Course
Originally designed by Tom and George Fazio for major tournament play, The Champion Course was redesigned by Jack Nicklaus in 2014. It comes with a par 71 (35-36) layout and 7,147 yards of peril including occasional tricky South Florida winds, that will wreak havoc with club selection and distance. There are a number of water penalty areas lurking throughout the course that stand ready to strike down even the world’s best golfers.
One stretch, that highly characterizes the problems water can cause on the course, players will have to navigate the dangerous and infamous Bear Trap (Holes No. 15-17). It includes two par threes, and a par 4 with each hole requiring a solid and accurate carry over water. This unique layout is appropriately referred to as “one of the toughest stretches in golf.”
The PGA National Champion Course has hosted a Ryder Cup in 1983, a PGA Championship in 1987 won by Larry Nelson, along with 19 years of senior PGA Championship and since 2007 the Honda classic.
Round 1
What started as an almost perfect day for golf became a typical Florida early spring afternoon for the later groupings. The calm winds, enjoyed by the early groups, started raising its ugly head, making an already difficult golf course even tougher, for the afternoon players. Six of the eight players, on the top of day-one’s leaderboard, had morning tee times.
World No. 253 Chad Ramey was 7-under after a bogey-free 64 and was out front early at the Cognizant Classic until No. 122 S.H. Kim matched him with a round featuring an eagle and five birdies. Kim played the three par 5s to 4-under. Ramey hasn’t seen many top-10 finishes since his 2022 Corales Puntacana Championship, which was his only win on tour.
“I’ve never been here and it not blowing,” said Ramey, who had missed three of five cuts on the PGA Tour this year. “To take advantage of the calm conditions is definitely a plus.”
Rory McIlroy finished 4-under while playing in a 7:40 am threesome with last year’s winner Chris Kirk (-4) and Jake Knapp (-3), who was the winner last week in Mexico.
“You’re not going to get this course much easier,” said world No. 2 McIlroy, after his 67 that didn’t have him too pumped. “Probably could have been a couple shots better, but still a decent start.”
Round 1: Top 5
Pos-Player-Score
1. Chad Ramey -7 (64)
1. S. H. Kim -7 (64)
3. Andrew Novak -6 (65)
3. Austin Eckroat -6 (65)
3. Ryan Moore -6 (65)
3. Cameron Young -6 (65)
3. Chesson Hadley -6 (65)
3. David Skinns -6 (65)
Round 2
Weather conditions played a major role in keeping scores almost three strokes lower than Thursday’s opening round. Only Austin Eckroat was able to keep himself in today’s top 5 from yesterday’s leaderboard. Right from the start players were up against 15-to-20 mile-per-hour winds with occasional gust to the mid 20’s, coupled with lightning-fast greens and water hazards lurking on almost every shot.
Bud Cauley’s 6-under 65 moved him to 11-under 131 and a one-shot lead over Eckroat and Garrick Higgo on the Champion Course. In 2018, Cauley was a passenger in a car crash that left him with career-threatening injuries. He spent over three years away from professional golf.
“There were a lot of times I thought my career was over,” said Cauley, 33. “I’m just happy I kept after it and didn’t stop trying. I saw a leaderboard coming down 18 and I knew if I birdied the hole, I would be leading. It feels great to be in this position.”
Using an 8 iron from 197 yards, rookie Nick Dunlap (-8) recorded his first career hole-in-one on the par-3 7th hole to vault back into contention. His tee shot landed just 15 feet short of the hole and proceeded to roll straight in.
Thomas Detry (+9), a Belgian golfer, playing both the American and European PGA tours, had a six-putt on the 6th hole on Friday, the most by any player on a single hole on Tour since Danny Lee 6-putted the 18th in the third round of the 2020 U.S. Open.
Past Winners who missed the 2-under par cut: Straka (E), Im (+1), Harrington (+2), Kuchar (+2).
Round 2: Top 5
Pos-Player (Rd 2)
1. Bud Cauley -11 (-6)
2. Garrick Higgo -10 (-7)
2. Austin Eckroat -10 (-4)
4. Victor Perez -9 (-5)
4. Kevin Yu -9 (-4)
Round 3
Shane Lowry (-13) nearly won the Honda at PGA National two years ago but lost the opportunity to tie Sepp Straka on the 72nd hole when a sudden downpour took away his last chance to tie the match and send it into extra holes.
“It’s funny because I didn’t know Sepp at all at the time,” Lowry said. “I used to tell him at the Ryder Cup that I used to not like him after that tournament, and I’ve become really friendly with him now, and he’s a great guy, and I get on very well with him.”
The Irishman was in a strong position for redemption on Sunday, but he was not alone: David Skinns and Austin Eckroat were tied for the 54-hole lead.
Lowry and Skinns posted rounds of 66 while Eckroat shot a 68.
Lowry was looking for his third victory on the PGA Tour. Skinns was seeking his first top-10 finish in 33 tour starts and the tournament’s first winner from England since Luke Donald in 2006. It was the first time he’d held or shared a 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour. Eckroat, meanwhile, was seeking his first tour win in his 50th career start.
The headlines in the Irish Star prior to this week’s Cognizant Classic read: “Rory McIlroy will be disappointed with anything but a win at the Cognizant Classic.”
In the hunt at 10 under, things looked promising for McIlroy on Saturday as he headed into the vaunted Bear Trap (Nos. 15-17) – a set of holes that he’d played to 3-under in the opening two rounds. It started out innocently enough with an unexpected bogey on the par 3 15th but a triple bogey on No. 16 had him sitting at 6 under on the 18th tee. A birdie on the final hole left the Northern Irishman at 7-under par, tied for 26th.
Through 54 holes, some 25 players were within five strokes of the lead with a 15-way tie for 11th at 8 under.
Round 3: Top 5
Pos-Player (Rd 3)
1. Shane Lowry -13 (-5)
2. Austin Eckroat -13 (-3)
2. David Skinns -13 (-3)
4. Jacob Bridgeman -10 (-6)
4. Min Woo Lee -10 (-5)
4. Martin Laird -10 (-5)
4. Victor Perez -10 (-1)
4. Kevin Yu -10 (-1)
Final Round
Play was moved to a rain delay at 12:49pm with Erik van Rooyen atop the leaderboard at 14-under through 12 holes, one stroke ahead of yesterday’s trio of leaders who had yet to tee off.
The Cognizant Classic final round resumed at 4:15pm but was again suspended at 6:35pm with 26 golfers still on the course. Austin Eckroat held the tournament lead at 15 under aided by two birdies over his first seven holes.
With play suspended, Van Rooyen, with a final-round 63, was the leader in the clubhouse at 14 under. He was being chased by Knapp (-13, 15th), Keith Mitchell (-12, F), Billy Horschel (-12, 17th), Alex Noren (-12, 12th), and Lowry (-12, 5th).
There were eight other players tied at 8 under.
Monday Morning
The last time a PGA Tour event went to a Monday finish was the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, due to storms on the Monterey peninsula.
A Monday morning restart at 8am found sunny skies and a relatively dry golf course. With the final twosome headed to the 10th tee, only Min Woo Lee (-14 thru 12) had moved himself into contention, moving into a second-place tie with van Rooyen -14 (63). He was two back of Eckroat (-16, 11th) who continued to add birdies to his scorecard.
It appeared that Eckroat had everything going for him on Monday morning as he slowly worked to the top of the leaderboard, and after steering clear of trouble through the Bear Trap, he became the latest first-time PG Tour winner in 2024.
Final Round: Top 5
Pos-Player (Final Rd)
1. Austin Eckroat -17 (-4)
2. Erik van Rooyen -14 (-8)
2. Min Woo Lee -14 (-4)
4. K.H. Lee -13 (-5)
4. Cameron Young -13 (-5)
4. Jake Knapp -13 (-5)
4. Shane Lowry -13 (E)
4. David Skinns -13 (E)
The Winner
The winner of the 2024 Cognizant Classic was Austin Eckroat at 17 under. He’s the recipient of the first Cognizant Classic trophy, along with a check for $1,620,000, and 500 FedEx Cup points. It was Eckroat’s first PGA Tour victory since joining the circuit in 2018. His current career earnings are $4,485,822.
When Eckroat was asked about his trip through the bear trap, he said, “You know happy with how I played the the bear trap. It’s not a fun finish whenever you have to hold on to the lead and then you sleep in the mid round and I’m just really happy with how I handled it.
“I just kept telling myself that I put myself in this position for a reason, so I’m just happy that I was able to perform.”
Tied for 2nd place at 14-under was Min Woo Lee and Erik van Rooyen. The duo each took home $801,000 and 300 FedEx Cup points.
