2026 Cognizant Classic odds, picks: Surprising predictions by golf model that's called 16 majors


                        2026 Cognizant Classic odds, picks: Surprising predictions by golf model that's called 16 majors
By: CBS Sports Posted On: February 24, 2026 View: 8

The PGA Florida Swing gets underway on Thursday with the 2026 Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches at the PGA National Champion Course. Coming off two Signature Events, the Cognizant Classic field is missing some of the top names on tour, but it does feature past major winners such as Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka, who is playing in his third event since rejoining the PGA this season. 

The latest 2026 Cognizant Classic odds via FanDuel Sportsbook list Lowry as the +1400 favorite, followed by Ryan Gerard at +1900. Koepka is +2700 after missing the cut in his last prior event, the WM Phoenix Open. Before locking in any 2026 Cognizant Classic picks, or making any PGA DFS picks on sites like FanDuel or DraftKings, be sure to see the golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

SportsLine's proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, simulated every PGA Tour event 10,000 times and reveals golf betting picks that have a history of being extremely profitable. 

This same model has also nailed a whopping 16 majors entering the weekend, including the 2025 Masters -- its fourth Masters in a row -- as well as this year's PGA Championship and Open Championship. Anyone who has followed its sports betting picks could have seen massive returns on betting sites

New users can also target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $200 in bonus bets if your first $5+ bet wins:

Now that the 2026 Cognizant Classic field is locked in, the model simulated the tournament 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard

2026 Cognizant Classic predictions 

One major surprise the model is calling for at the Cognizant Classic 2026: Lowry, the favorite this week and the 2019 Open Championship winner, doesn't even crack the top 3. He's a golfer to fade this week. Lowry hasn't won an individual event on the PGA Tour since that major championship, though he did team up with Rory McIlroy to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2024. Lowry finished T8 at Pebble Beach earlier this month, but that marked his first top-10 finish since May of 2025. See who else to fade here

Another surprise: The model is extremely high on Daniel Berger as a +3000 longshot, saying he's a top-six contender despite not being in the top 10 on the odds board. Berger struggled in his past two events, though he does have a pair of top-20 finishes this season -- one at the Sony Open and another at the WM Phoenix Open. He has three top-five finishes at this event, which used to be known as the Honda Classic, including one in 2022. See who else to pick here

New users can also check out the latest FanDuel promo code and get $100 in bonus bets at FanDuel if your first $5+ bet wins:

How to make 2026 Cognizant Classic picks

The model is also targeting four other longshots with odds of +3000 or higher as top-10 contenders. You can only see the model's picks here

Who will win the 2026 Cognizant Classic, and which massive longshots will stun the golfing world? Check out the 2026 Cognizant Classic odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed 16 golf majors, including three in 2025.

2026 Cognizant Classic odds, favorites 

Get full 2026 Cognizant Classic picks, best bets and predictions here
(odds via FanDuel and subject to change)

Shane Lowry +1400
Ryan Gerard +1600
Nicolai Højgaard +2000
Rasmus Højgaard +2200
Michael Thorbjornsen +2200
Keith Mitchell +2700
Brooks Koepka +2700
Daniel Berger +3000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +3000
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +3000
Aaron Rai +3300
Thorbjørn Olesen +3300
Davis Thompson +3300
Will Zalatoris +3500
Max McGreevy +3500
Richard Hoey +4000
Max Homa +4000
Kristoffer Reitan +4000
Alex Smalley +4000
Chris Kirk +4000
Michael Brennan +4500
Jordan Smith +4500
Johnny Keefer +4500
Mac Meissner +4500
Haotong Li +4500
Sami Valimaki +5000
Stephan Jaeger +5000
Mackenzie Hughes +5000
John Parry +5500
Seamus Power +5500
Garrick Higgo +5500
Nico Echavarria +5500
Austin Eckroat +6000
Tom Kim +6000
Kevin Yu +6000
Matt Wallace +6000
Ricky Castillo +6000
Doug Ghim +7000
Dan Brown +7000
Eric Cole +7000
Vince Whaley +7000
Kris Ventura +7500
Billy Horschel +7500
Lee Hodges +7500
Gary Woodland +7500
Emiliano Grillo +7500
Zecheng Dou +8000
David Ford +8000
Jesper Svensson +8000
Adrien Dumont de Chassart +8000
S.H. Kim +8000
Kevin Roy +8000
Matt Kuchar +8000
Steven Fisk +8000
Chad Ramey +8000
Sam Ryder +8000

Read this on CBS Sports
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