Cognizant Classic 2026: cognizant classic 2026 field weakens after wave of WDs
The cognizant classic 2026 is confronting a weakened field and questions about its place on the PGA Tour calendar after a late wave of withdrawals. The event, played at PGA National and once a marquee stop on the Florida Swing, now faces an uncertain future as the tour reshapes its schedule.
Cognizant Classic 2026 field fallout
Monday’s mass of withdrawals made the Cognizant’s predicament plain: Ben Griffin, Adam Scott and Jacob Bridgeman, three of the top betting favorites, all withdrew from this week’s event. That exodus leaves this week’s Cognizant with just one player in the top 30 in the world, Ryan Gerard, and only eight players inside the top 50. Brooks Koepka, Billy Horschel and Gary Woodland will still tee it up, but the buzz has been lost from an event that used to signal the start of the run to the Masters.
History at PGA National
The tournament, once known as the Honda Classic, was long a must-watch stop held at the difficult PGA National. Past champions include Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler. Players such as Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Brooks Koepka have teed it up on several occasions. In the mid-2010s the Honda Classic drew top players, many of whom call Florida home, by offering a chance to play a difficult course for a purse that was in the same ballpark as stops at Pebble Beach, Riviera and Bay Hill.
Schedule shifts and purses
For years the Players Championship was held in May, which meant the Arnold Palmer Invitational wasn’t held until the back end of March, and the Honda had a nice spot between Riviera and the WGC at Trump Doral. With purses in the $6 million range and players only playing select West Coast events, the Honda Classic held its own and was a popular tournament. But times began changing in 2019 when the Players Championship moved to March, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational was slotted between it and the Honda.
Signature Event model effects
PGA National still commanded a good field until LIV Golf arrived and the Signature Event model was introduced in 2023. Suddenly the Cognizant found itself following two West Coast events with $20 million purses, and in front of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which carries a $20 million purse, and the Players Championship, at $25 million. That shift left the Cognizant in a lurch: with top players teeing it up in the $20 million events, its field began to bleed.
Justin Thomas' reaction to changes
“It’s a bummer, ” Justin Thomas said after last night’s TGL match of the Cognizant’s weaker field. “It’s one of those events that has fallen at an unfortunate time in the schedule. I think it’s both a great thing and a bad thing of our schedule, how great it is and the amount of great golf courses that we go to.
“It kills me that I can’t play Torrey Pines every year. Like Torrey Pines South, to me, is such a great golf course. It fits my eye so well. I like the North Course, but I can’t play in it every year. Or Colonial is an event in the past where — I love Colonial. I think that golf course is incredible, but I can’t play four or five in a row. ”
Committee reshaping and unfinished note
The Signature Event model has done its job, but it has also segmented the PGA Tour into a group of star-studded, limited-field events and full-field events that attract occasional stars but are mainly used as a way for players to play their way into the bigger events. That segmentation is part of the reason the event’s field has thinned.
The Cognizant’s precarious spot on the schedule has drawn the attention of new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp and the Future Competitions Committee, led by Tiger Woods, as they look to reshape the PGA Tour’s schedule with “scarcity” in mind. It’s why Fowler played in the Cognizant last year but isn’t teeing it up this year after punching his unclear in the provided context
The cognizant classic 2026 now feels like a barometer for how the PGA Tour balances its Signature Events, lucrative West Coast purses and traditional full-field tournaments as changes in scheduling and prize money reshape player priorities.
