The PGA Tour hits Palm Beach for the start of the Florida Swing with the iconic PGA National hosting the Cognizant Classic with Rory McIlroy the clear favourite in betting.
Best Bet
It has been an extraordinary start to the PGA Tour career of Matthieu Pavon. He is four starts in and has a win at Torrey Pines to go with two Top 10s at Pebble Beach and PGA West. Torrey and PGA West are both guides to this course. Pavon leads the Tour in Proximity and Strokes Gained: Approach while he ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: Tee To Green, 12th in GIR and 14th in Bogey Avoidance. Huge odds.
Mid-Tier Bet
Mitchell won here a few years back at huge odds and while his price is nowhere near that here, he is a big price to figure again. Mitchell ranks 4th in Proximity, 4th in GIR and 9th in Strokes Gained: Tee To Green. The American Express is a great guide for here on another Nicklaus influenced course and Mitchell finished T-9 this year.
Value Bet
Kirk won this crown in a playoff last year and then won in Hawaii at the start of the season. He ranks 3rd in Proximity, 8th in Scrambling, 10th in Strokes Gained: Tee To Green and 13th in Bogey Avoidance. Kirk just loves Nicklaus courses and looks a big player again.
Longshot Bet
Ben Silverman has been on and off the PGA Tour for a long time and has yet to win but he looks a nice hope this week after a strong start to this year after winning his card back. He has two Top 18 finishes from four starts. Silverman ranks 6th in Sand Saves, 7th in Scrambling and 14th on Bogey Avoidance.