Rory McIlroy, Aldrich Potgieter and Kurt Kitayama all flashed their skills during the final round at Riviera Country Club on Sunday but it was Jacob Bridgeman who walked away with the top prize. Tommy Fleetwood jarred an eagle on 15 and Max Greyserman aced the 16th hole to the amazement of the Genesis Invitational crowd.
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Daniel Berger has the best combined opening-round score of any player on Tour at PGA National since 2020. Berger, who shot a 4-under 67 on Thursday, sits comfortably inside the Cognizant Classic’s top 10 after 18 holes.
Austin Smotherman entered the 2026 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches fully rested after having the last two weeks off. He put it to good use during Thursday’s opening round, making six straight birdies on his way to a 9-under 62.
David Ford’s opening round at PGA National went sideways after he found himself caught in the Bear Trap on the 17th hole. Ford finished with a quadruple bogey after a few strokes without a shoe went nowhere. Meanwhile the Golf Channel booth recalled Bill Haas finding bottom of the same hole 15 years prior on his way to winning the 2011 Tour Championship.
Gary Woodland opened his back nine at PGA National with back-to-back birdies thanks to this long putt on 11. A moment later, Patton Kizzire saw his tee shot almost sink in for an ace. The lipout around the cup forced Kizzire to settle for a birdie putt of his own. Both players getting back to even on the first round.
Austin Smotherman entered the 2026 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches fully rested after having the last two weeks off. He put it to good use during Thursday’s opening round, making six straight birdies on his way to a 9-under 62.
Zalatoris was a last-minute withdrawal from the Cognizant Classic on Thursday, citing a left-ankle injury.
The Champion Course at PGA National is known for challenging even the game’s most elite players. The 3-hole stretch from 15-16-17, better know as the “Bear Trap,” has changed the fate of tournaments over the years but where does it rank on Tour as the hardest run of consecutive holes? And is it even the most challenging 3-hole stretch on the course or does that honor belong to holes 5, 6 and 7? Golf Channel’s Paige Mackenzie shares her insights.
Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra will be playing on exemption at next week’s Puerto Rico Open. Chacarra, who left the LIV Golf circuit, played college golf at Wake Forest and Oklahoma State.
Tom D’Angelo, who has been covering sports in Florida since 1981 for The Palm Beach Post, talks with Golf Channel’s Steve Burkowski and Ryan Lavner about the history of the Cognizant Classic, what it has meant to generations of fans, and its current place in the hierarchy of professional golf.
As the PGA Tour hits the Sunshine State, we look back at some of the best moments from December’s Golf Channel Games in South Florida, courtesy The Curetivity Foundation. The Curetivity Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to create hope and cure kids by raising funds and awareness in the fight against childhood cancer.