The TOUR returns to Florida this week for the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, contested at PGA National Resort (The Champion Course) – the longtime PGA TOUR venue that also has hosted the Ryder Cup and PGA Championship.

Joe Highsmith aims to defend his title after finishing at 19 under last year and winning by two over J.J. Spaun and Jacob Bridgeman.

The Cognizant Classic is also the final chance for players to earn their way into the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard via the Aon Next 10 and Aon Swing 5.

Here’s everything else you need to know as the Florida swing kicks off.

FIELD NOTES: Brooks Koepka returns to action on TOUR after playing both the WM Phoenix Open and Farmers Insurance Open. Koepka has teed it up at PGA National eight times previous with his best result coming in 2019 when he finished tied for second. … Joe Highsmith returns to defend his title at PGA National, looking to become the first person to successfully go back-to-back at the Cognizant Classic since Jack Nicklaus in 1977-78. … Ryan Gerard is the top-ranked golfer in the FedExCup standings in the field at No. 7 and highest ranked in the Official World Golf Rankings as well at No. 26. His notable climb up the rankings is thanks to his back-to-back runner-up results to start the year at the Sony Open in Hawaii and The American Express. … Other notables in the field include Shane Lowry and Max Homa.… There are two days of TGL double-headers during the week of the Cognizant Classic with Lowry (The Bay Golf Club), Michael Thorbjornsen (Boston Common) and Billy Horschel (Atlanta Drive GC) hoping they’ll see some success from the SoFi Center carry over into PGA National.

SPONSOR EXEMPTIONS: Blades Brown is back in action on the PGA TOUR after notching a top-20 finish at The American Express on the back of a second-round 60 in the California desert. This marks Brown’s debut at the Cognizant Classic. Brown has made three straight cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour so far this season, with his best result – a T17 – coming at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club. … Camilo Villegas will tee it up for the third time on TOUR this season. He won this event in 2010. … Adam Hadwin will make his first PGA TOUR start of the season after falling short of re-earning a PGA TOUR card last season via the FedExCup Fall. Hadwin has played twice on the Korn Ferry Tour so far this year – teeing it up on the Korn Ferry Tour circuit for the first time since 2014 – where he finished second at The Panama Championship. Hadwin has played the Cognizant Classic three times, with his best result coming in 2021 when he finished eighth. … Harry Higgs rounds out the sponsor exemptions.

SIGNATURE EVENT STORYLINES: The top 10 FedExCup points earners through the Cognizant Classic will earn spots in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard via the Aon Next 10, with Jake Knapp leading the way and Min Woo Lee in second. … Adam Scott, who finished in solo fourth last week at The Genesis Invitational, sits fifth. (Knapp, Lee and Scott are not in the field this week.) ... Michael Thorbjornsen is at No. 11, just nine points back of the magic number. He’s teeing it up this week at PGA National but looks to be in good shape regardless – he leads the Aon Swing 5. … The top five FedExCup points earners in the Sony Open in Hawaii, The American Express, Farmers Insurance Open, WM Phoenix Open and Cognizant Classic will earn spots in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. … Nicolai Højgaard, Haotong Li, Stephan Jaeger and Kevin Roy round out the Aon Swing 5 heading into the final event of this stretch.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points.

COURSE: PGA National (Champion), par 71, 7,223 yards. The course has been increased in length by about 100 yards from last year, where No. 10 was already lengthened by 20 yards for the 2025 edition of the tournament. Fairway lines were widened in 2023 and one full acre of fairway grass was added between 2023 and 2024.

Water is in play on 15 of the 18 holes, including the iconic "Bear Trap" stretch (Nos. 15-17).

This marks the 20th anniversary of the event being contested at PGA National.

72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Justin Leonard (2003 at Mirasol); PGA National record: 265, Joe Highsmith (2025)

18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Jake Knapp (first round, 2025)

LAST TIME: Joe Highsmith rolled in a slippery 5-footer to make the cut on the number Friday at the Cognizant Classic and then went on to win the event two days later. Highsmith recorded the lowest weekend score in PGA National history with a pair of 7-under 64s and rallied from a four-shot deficit with three straight birdies around the turn in the final round to eventually win by two shots over J.J. Spaun and Jacob Bridgeman. Jake Knapp, who was trying to become the first wire-to-wire winner in tournament history – after opening the week with a 59 on Thursday – had a one-shot lead on the back nine Sunday before hitting his approach on No. 11 into the water, leading to a triple bogey and his ultimate undoing.

How to watch (all times ET)

Special programming alerts:

• Monday:
  • 5 p.m.: TGL Match 9, Atlanta Drive vs. Boston Common, ESPN
  • 7 p.m.: "The Drop," Golf Channel
  • 9 p.m.: TGL Match 10, LAGC vs. Atlanta Drive, ESPN2
• Tuesday:
  • 5 p.m.: TGL Match 11, NYGC vs. The Bay, ESPN
  • 9 p.m.: TGL Match 12, Boston Common vs. LAGC, ESPN
• Sunday, 9 p.m.: TGL Match 13, Jupiter Links vs. Boston Common, ESPN

Television:

• Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m., Golf Channel
• Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m., Golf Channel; 3-6 p.m., NBC

PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+:

• Thursday-Friday: 6:45 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Saturday-Sunday: 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m.

PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+ and consists of four streams:

• Main feed (Stream 1): Primary tournament coverage featuring the best action from across the course
• Marquee group (Stream 2): New "marquee group" showcasing every shot from each player in the group
• Featured groups (Stream 3): Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups
• Featured holes (Stream 4): Combination of par 3s and iconic or pivotal holes.

PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and free at PGATOUR.COM/liveaudio

• Thursday-Friday: noon-6 p.m.
• Saturday-Sunday: 1-6 p.m.