The PGA Tour heads to sunny Florida for the 2024 Cognizant Classic on Thursday, February 29. According to our friends at DraftKings, Rory McIlroy (+700) is a huge favorite to win the tournament. Other notables like Cameron Young (+2200) and Russell Henley (+2500) should also be in the mix on Sunday.
After going 7-1 last week on the links, we're ready to bring you more best bets! Enjoy the matchups and remember to always bet responsibly. Good luck!
Daniel Berger OVER Rickie Fowler (-135)
After missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance, Berger headed to the WM Open and played at -8 to secure 28th place. Rickie has yet to break through into the Top 30 this season.
For their course history, Berger has come in 4th both starts in recent years here. Fowler, on the other hand, has gotten a bit worse as the years have gone on. We are going to take the Berger man here.
Sepp Straka OVER Matthieu Pavon (+100)
Sepp has been hit or miss this season. In 4 events thus far, he has missed the cut in 2 and finished 12th and 26th in the other 2 starts. His recent history here at the Cognizant he picked up the outright win in 2022 and followed that up with a 5th place finish last year.
Pavon has yet to play in this event and has no real knowledge of the course. However, Pavon has been hot lately. He won the Farmers Insurance and also played well enough to grab 3rd at Pebble Beach.
That was the last event he participated in and that could play to our advantage here on Straka. The even money price is a bargain!
Shane Lowry OVER Min Woo Lee (+100)
Lowry has yet to finished outside the Top 40 here at the Cognizant Classic. Last year, he came in 5th after coming in runner-up the year previous. He is facing Min Woo Lee who finished a respectable 26th in his debut here last year.
Both men are playing in their 1st event since the WM Phoenix Open where Lowry was 60th and Woo Lee was 70th. No matter where they finish this weekend, we believe Lowry will find himself a few spots ahead of Min Woo Lee.
Top 40 Finish: Dylan Wu (+150)
Wu is fresh off a solid 24th place finish at the Mexico Open. Now he heads to the Cognizant Classic where he has 2 previous starts over the past 2 years. In 2022 he finished a respectable 30th in his debut and followed that up with a 10th place finish last year.
Not only do we expect Wu to be inside the Top 40, but we also believe there is value in playing him smaller in the Top 30 and Top 20 markets.
Top 40 Finish: Sam Ryder (+175)
It has not been a great start for Ryder in 2024. He has missed 3 cuts in the 5 events he has participated in thus far. However, he did sprinkle in a Top 40 finish at Pebble in early February.
Obviously, his recent form is the reason we can get this price on Ryder in this spot. He did not participate here last year but in the previous 2 years, Ryder captured 9th and 8th place respectively. We are going to play him here on the value of the number we are getting.
Top 40 Finish: Matthew NeSmith (+190)
Much like our play on Ryder, NeSmith has also struggled this season but has been consistent at this event. In his previous 3 starts here, he has finished inside the Top 40 all 3 times, improving his position year after year.
Getting him at almost 2:1 makes NeSmith a no brainer here.
Top 30 Finish: Chris Kirk (+110)
Kirk has placed inside the Top 30 in 3 of the 5 starts he has made this season. He has taken some time off after missing the cut at the Genesis a couple weeks ago. He returns here at the Cognizant Classic where he has been dominating.
After failing to make the cut in 2019 and 2020, he placed 25th in 2021, 7th in 2022, and finally finished the job by winning last year. This course is a perfect bounce-back spot for Kirk and the Top 30 should be an extremely attainable goal.
