Golf betting tips: Cognizant Classic predictions & best odds
Cognizant Classic golf tips:
The PGA Tour’s Florida Swing kicks off this week at the renamed Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches but there is nothing new about the course which remains the iconic and notoriously difficult PGA National.
There are plenty of former winners playing at what used to be known as the Honda Classic, including two-time champion Padraig Harrington, Rickie Fowler and last year’s hero Chris Kirk, but the star of the show is undoubtedly Rory McIlroy, making his first visit here in six years.
Considering there are just three members of the world’s top 20 playing on the Champion Course, 2012 winner McIlroy certainly has his merits at 8/1, but his last three appearances here have been underwhelming - two missed cuts and a T59 in 2018 when he finished 17 shots behind winner Justin Thomas at what was then a par 70.
With power less important than accuracy off the tee in the face of narrow fairways, numerous water hazards and bunkers, a good iron game is essential, so with these factors in mind we have looked at some of the best UK betting sites to pick out three Cognizant Classic tips.
Go with Ghim to flourish in Florida
Applying the same logic used to rule out McIlroy should lead to the same conclusion about Doug Ghim, who has missed the weekend on all three previous visits, but the American’s game is in top shape and he has the potential to deliver a first PGA Tour title six years after turning pro.
Ghim got the new year off to a slow start with a couple of missed cuts at Waialae and PGA West, but looks a player reborn on the back of top-15 finishes at the Farmers Insurance Open and Phoenix Open.
The Las Vegas resident then carded a pair of 67s last weekend to finish eighth at the Mexico Open where he ranked sixth in strokes gained tee-to-green and is fifth overall for that metric in the first two months of the season.
Ghim is one of the most accurate drivers on the PGA Tour which should prove crucial for finding those tight fairways and don’t be put off by his outsider status as there have been several surprising winners in the last five years such as Sepp Straka (125/1), Matt Jones (80/1) and the biggest of all, Keith Mitchell (300/1).
The greens are tricky to read at PGA National, but Ghim is on an upward trajectory with his putter, so all facets of his game seem to be in good working order.
BoyleSports are the pick of the betting apps on Ghim as an each-way selection at 75/1 for six places as the first of this week’s Cognizant Classic tips.
Mitchell can contend again at Champion
We had a 4/1 winner on Jason Day for a top 10 finish at the Genesis Invitational a fortnight ago and are sticking with that market at a slightly higher price for the second selection, 2019 champion Mitchell, who has made a strong start to the season.
Ninth at The American Express, Mitchell posted back-to-back top 20s in Phoenix and Mexico, meaning he has missed the cut just once in six outings since the turn of the year.
Encouragingly, Mitchell’s SG: tee-to-green stats are excellent and although his putter has been cold, the fact he ranks fourth in the proximity to the hole rankings should stand him in good stead.
Mitchell finished ninth in his last visit to PGA National two years ago and a quick look at the golf betting sites points to SpreadEx at 9/2 as the best option for another top 10 finish.
No ig-Noren Swede’s credentials
Patrick Cantlay delivered as a first-round leader at 33/1 in our last preview at Riviera two weeks ago, so it would be remiss of us not to go for back-to-back winners in that market.
Cantlay is absent this week in what is a weakened field with bigger tournaments on the horizon, but one player really stands out to get off to a lightning start at this tough parkland course.
Alex Noren has topped the Thursday leaderboard in two of his last six outings, breaking the tournament record at the Bermuda Championship in November with a 61 which was also his best ever round on the PGA Tour.
Six weeks ago, the Swede fired an opening-round 62 at The American Express to share the lead with Zach Johnson, so he has been bursting out of the blocks lately.
As if more evidence were needed, Noren shot a first-round 66 to share the lead en route to a third-placed finish at the Honda Classic in 2018 and a 69 here two years ago when he tied for fifth at the end of the week.
With another fast start a possibility, bet365 is the pick of the gambling sites for Noren to be first round leader at 70/1, the last of our Cognizant Classic predictions.
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Warren Barner is an experienced sports journalist who has spent the last few years writing for Ladbrokes, Coral, Bwin and PokerStars/BetStars. He covers football, tennis and golf and is a lifelong York City fan.
