DraftKings preview: Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches

The PGA TOUR begins its Florida Swing this week with the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. PGA National will be the host course and measures as a 7,147-yard par 71. Previously a par 70, the par changed this year as the par-4 10th hole has since been lengthened 20 yards and switched from a par 4 to a par 5.

The event features a strong field headlined by world No. 2 Rory McIlroy, along with Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young and defending champion Chris Kirk.

Below, I have outlined three of my favorite DraftKings plays for the week.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $800K Pitch + Putt [$200K to 1st]

Shane Lowry ($9,300)

PGA National is one of Lowry’s favorite courses on the PGA TOUR, having never missed a cut here in six career starts while posting finishes T2 and T5 each of the past two years. Lowry has always been a grinder that we look to target on tougher tracks, and PGA National has been perennially one of the hardest courses on the PGA TOUR circuit, so it’s no surprise to see the Irishman’s success here.

The former Open champion ranks fifth in this field in both Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green per round and SG: Total per round at PGA National among anyone with more than one career start here. Lowry’s putter was ice cold the last time we saw him at the WM Phoenix Open, which led to a poor T60 finish. However, he did gain strokes in every other category for the week in TPC Scottsdale and has since had three weeks to get ready for this event, which he always seems to get up for.

Despite some poor recent form, Lowry still ranks 10th in the field in SG: Tee-to-Green over the past 48 rounds, and should revert back to his normal self this week. He’s one of the sharper plays on the board at $9,300.

Sepp Straka ($8,600)

Straka got his maiden PGA TOUR victory at this event back in 2022, where he edged out Shane Lowry after the latter caught the raw end of a rain delay. Straka then followed that up last year with a T5, while posting finishes of T33 and T27 in the two years before his win. The Austrian has a keen eye for PGA National.

No one in the field who has played this event multiple times has averaged more Total Strokes Gained per round at PGA National than Straka has. He’s coming off a missed cut at The Genesis Invitational, but he gained strokes ball-striking for the week, so I am not too concerned about it. Prior to that, Straka had started the year on fire, with finishes of T26 at Pebble Beach (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am), T12 at Kapalua (The Sentry) and solo second at the Hero World Challenge.

It’s not too often we get a former winner of an event who’s in strong form at just $8,600, making Straka one of the top-value plays on the slate.

Adam Svensson ($7,700)

Svensson is in rarified air this week as one of the few who have played this event multiple times without missing a cut. He’s played PGA National three times now, with his best finish coming in 2022 (T9). Svensson also ranks ninth in this field in SG: Tee-to-Green per round at this course.

He’s coming off his first top-10 finish of 2024 in his last start at The Genesis, where his tee-to-green game looked great. Svensson gained 2.1 or more strokes on Approach, Off-the-Tee and around-the-green at Riviera.

The Canadian has always been known for his elite long-iron play, which has shown to be paramount at PGA National. So far this season, Svensson ranks eighth on the PGA TOUR on approach shots from 175-200 yards from the fairway. He checks a lot of boxes for me at just $7,700.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $800K Pitch + Putt [$200K to 1st]

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is Lan1228) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.

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