2025 PGA Tour Golf Bets: Cognizant Classic Final Thoughts, Betting Card, OAD

PGA Tour golf continues with PGA National next on tap to host the 2025 Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach, Florida, this Thursday. Shane Lowry, Russell Henley, and Sungjae Im headline among Cognizant Classic bets this week, as John Haslbauer provides his favorite PGA Tour picks among all the golf odds offered this week. Below, you’ll find each player’s best odds across sports betting sites.

The Florida swing is just about underway now, as the PGA Tour leaves the West Coast swing behind for an extended stay in the Sunshine State. First on tap is PGA National to host the 2025 Cognizant Classic.

The Cognizant Classic, formerly the Honda Classic, is one of the most challenging scoring events on the PGA Tour schedule. It rewards precision off the tee to avoid its many water hazards and elite ball striking from inside 150-200 yards. Bermuda specialists stand out as a consistent through line when tracking the list of contenders over recent years.

We’ll review all the bets I’ve placed for the 2025 Cognizant Classic.

Click on any of the Cognizant Classic odds below for the best available prices across sportsbooks in your state. Navigate to my longshots post for more golf DFS picks and considerations.

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HOW I BUILT MY Cognizant Classic BETTING CARD

It’s a bit of a strange betting board this week. No prohibitive favorite gives this tournament more of a wide-open feel. That allows outright card construction to include multiple favorites, which is not a luxury we always have. So, I’m taking advantage! The longshots in this field don’t excite me, so I’ve built a reasonably tight card around the two players I believe have the best hopes of winning.

From a statistical standpoint, I prioritized players with proven long-term success on Bermuda layouts, as well as skilled ball-strikers who excel in Proximity from 150-200 yards.

In terms of my unit exposure, it’s back to business as usual for the 2025 Cognizant Classic:

• Outrights – 3.5U in to pay 25U each
• FRL – 0.5U in to pay out 10U+ each
• Full Tournament Matchups – 1U in to pay out 2U
• Props – 1.5U in to pay out 3U+ each

COGNIZANT CLASSIC BETS: OUTRIGHTS (3.5 UNITS)

For PGA Tour DFS picks and longshot bet considerations, check out my golf sleepers for the Cognizant Classic.

Shane Lowry

My bet: +2000
Best available odds: Shane Lowry +250000 on DraftKings

You cannot land on the tournament favorite every week at 20-1 odds. But I’m happy to take this discount on the man to beat this week. History has shown that the players who are best equipped to handle gusting winds and difficult scoring conditions succeed at PGA National. That describes Lowry’s game perfectly. The former Open champion would have won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am without a surging Rory McIlroy. His competition will be more diluted this week as he looks to maintain the momentum of three consecutive top-five finishes at the Cognizant Classic.

Russell Henley

My bet: +2200
Best available odds: Russell Henley +4000 on DraftKings

Russell Henley has run the gamut of good, bad, and ugly. Hideki Matsuyama ran him down on the Sunday back nine at the Sony Open. I was there for his 2021 Wyndham Championship collapse. I was also there when he prevailed in his recent Mayakoba victory. As a mature Russell Henley bettor, I know how not to get overconfident in his win equity.

But, even as a top-three favorite in a field with more name-brand players surrounding him than usual at the Cognizant Classic, I could not help but lock Henley onto my card this week, regardless of the number. He remains in vintage ball-striking form as one of the most accurate drivers on tour and most lethal approach players from inside 200 yards. A return to the Bermuda greens should further cater to the strengths of this former champion.

Billy Horschel

My bet: +5500
Best available odds: Billy Horschel +500000 on DraftKings

Billy Horschel is starting to get the Hideki Matsuyama treatment of years past because his odds always tend to drift into the disrespect zone. Horschel will be a top-five OWGR player in most non-signature events he plays this season. Yet, 15-20 players are priced shorter than him in this field. Given his Bermuda ties and prowess across Florida courses (No. 9 SG: TOT Florida Swing, No. 25 Course History), I would’ve handicapped fair odds for Horschel to be closer to 35-1 in this field, so we’re getting a nice discount with this number. He continues to trend well with his irons and will look to improve on a pair of top-20 finishes over his last four starts.

Andrew Novak

My bet: +6000
Best available odds: Andrew Novak +200000 on BetMGM

You have to respect Andrew Novak’s ascent early into his career. He has gradually improved across all facets of his game year over year. That upward trajectory is encouraging, considering he posted a T9 at this event last year in lesser form, gaining across all four SG categories. With his Bermuda ties and ability to gain throughout his bag, Novak’s game reminds me a bit of Taylor Moore’s, who picked up his first career PGA Tour win on the Florida Swing in 2023. With three top-15 finishes over his last four starts, it seems inevitable Novak’s first win will come soon.

Eric Cole

My bet: +9000
Best available odds: Eric Cole +500000 on DraftKings

This is a late addition to my card after Tuesday’s Lee Hodges withdrawal. It’s a nice consolation to get exposure to a player who I believe is among the most mispriced on the board. Cole came his closest to winning on the PGA Tour at this event in 2023, ultimately falling to Chris Kirk in a playoff in his Cognizant Classic debut. Despite his lack of tour reps at this venue, Cole is familiar with these grounds, taking up residence in this area and playing a mix of casual and mini-tour rounds at PGA National.

This is a good week to buy low on Bermuda specialists. So, I’m happy to take the discount on Cole, who has been solid from tee to green in 2025 and is due for positive regression on the greens. With Waialae CC as one of the top correlated courses to PGA National, I expect Cole to play more like he did at the Sony Open, where he delivered a season-best T5 finish last month.

Joel Dahmen

My bet: +17000
Best available odds: Joel Dahmen +35000 on DraftKings

This number has come down since Monday, but I would still endorse Dahmen anywhere beyond 125-1 odds. Like I’m so high on Russell Henley this week, Dahmen’s ability to control the ball off the tee and excel with his mid-irons (No. 2 Prox: 150-200) makes him a firm fit for PGA National. He’s also been at his best on windy courses, picking up his lone tour win at Corales and delivering a pair of top-10 finishes over his last three starts at Vidanta Vallarta and Torrey Pines. At just 7,100 yards, PGA National should be an even better fit for Dahmen’s game.

COGNIZANT CLASSIC BETS: FIRST-ROUND LEADER (0.5 UNITS)

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Russell Henley

My bet: +4500
Best available odds: Russell Henley +9525

Whether you have the stomach to sweat a Henley outright or not, it’s usually a safe bet to find a stake in Henley in the opening rounds on courses that have historically suited his game before the pressure sets in. Henley is my backup FRL auto bet with no Rai in this field.

Andrew Novak

My bet: +6000
Best available odds: Andrew Novak +100000 on DraftKings

Novak is a bonafide birdie-maker, and despite his hot start to 2025, I believe his best golf is yet to come as we return to a more familiar Bermuda setup on the Florida Swing. He can spike with his irons and putting and has fared well at PGA National before, with a T9 finish here last year.

Harry Hall

My bet: +7000
Best available odds: Harry Hall +100000 on DraftKings

I couldn’t quite get behind Harry Hall at his outright price this week, but we see a far better number on Hall in the FRL market, where he’s been the most dangerous. Hall may have the best short game in this field, which he’ll need to rely on for scoring in these challenging conditions.

Alex Smalley

My bet: +7000
Best available odds: Alex Smalley +100000 on DraftKings

Smalley passed the eye test for most of the Mexico Open last week before ultimately fizzling out of contention on Sunday. I want to get exposure to him in the FRL market this week to take advantage of the momentum he built at Vidanta before the nerves of the bear trap settle in over the weekend.

Joel Dahmen

My bet: +11000
Best available odds: Joel Dahmen +100000 on DraftKings

With the putter officially percolating, Dahmen is a legitimate threat to pace the field on Thursday. His Driving Accuracy and mid-iron approach play are in top form. He’s had solid results at PGA National in the past and seems due to improve his resume this week.

COGNIZANT CLASSIC BETS: PROPS (2.5 UNITS)

Full Tournament Matchup: Billy Horschel > Patrick Rodgers

My bet: -105

It is shocking to see Patrick Rodgers priced as a slight favorite in this matchup. Horschel, known as a Florida man with a sticky course history across the Florida swing, also happens to be ranked significantly higher in OWGR (No. 20) than Rodgers (No. 73). This is an ideal sell-high spot for Rodgers, who enters on the heels of back-to-back strong performances at two of his best courses in Torrey Pines and Vidanta Vallarta. However, his course history at PGA National is a stark contrast, as he’s failed to finish in the top 20 over eight prior appearances.

Top-20 Finish: Billy Horschel

My bet: +240
Best available odds: Billy Horschel +30000 on DraftKings

I will not be participating in the Billy Horschel disrespect tour this week. Even if Horschel had gotten off to a slow start in 2025, I would still be interested in him starting the Florida swing with a clean slate, given his historical track record on Bermuda greens. It’s highly encouraging to see Horschel continue to trend well with the irons, as that area of his game has been streaky throughout his career. If the approach play cooperates, his putting should help anchor his name atop the leaderboard this week.

Top-20 Finish: Eric Cole

My bet: +350
Best available odds: Eric Cole +10000 on DraftKings

A great buy-low candidate as we return to Bermuda courses, I’m content to overlook some recent missed cuts on the West Coast. Cole showed he still has his vintage game at the Sony Open where he finished T5 in similar conditions. If he can continue to gain with his irons and putting as he did at Waialae CC, Cole has the game to contend at PGA National as he showed us in 2023.

ONE AND DONE

My pick: Russell Henley

There are many options in OAD this week, and there is no clear-cut favorite. I expect ownership to be fairly split at the top between Shane Lowry, Russell Henley, Sepp Straka, and Daniel Berger. The latter two likely make the most strategic sense, as there will be fewer upcoming tournaments after this one where they will make as much sense.

Henley will also be a popular pick, but his sticky history at the Wyndham Championship and RBC Heritage feels like enough for most bettors to save him for later. I’ve seen enough signs of his form and putting trends to comfortably pull the trigger now as we head to a venue in which he has won before and finished in the top 10 in two of the last three years.

If not Henley, I would also consider playing Shane Lowry, Min Woo Lee, or Sepp Straka in OAD.

COGNIZANT CLASSIC: THE BETTING CARD

That’ll do it for this week’s PGA Tour golf bets. Best of luck this week with your own Cognizant Classic bets, and see you next Sunday for the Arnold Palmer Invitational preview. For more, follow TheLines on X.

Cognizant Classic ODDS

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