Cognizant Classic

The Cognizant Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in south Florida. It was founded in 1972 as "Jackie Gleason's Inverrary Classic".^[1] Prior to a schedule change in 2021, this was frequently the first of the Florida events in late winter following the "West Coast Swing."

Cognizant Classic

Tournament information
Location	Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Established	1972
Course(s)	PGA National Resort and Spa (Champion Course)
Par	70
Length	7,125 yards (6,515 m)
Organized by	IMG
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	US$9,200,000
Month played	February/March
Tournament record score
Aggregate	264 Justin Leonard (2003)
To par	−24 as above
Current champion
Joe Highsmith
Location map
PGA National Location in the United States Show map of the United States PGA National Location in Florida Show map of Florida

National Airlines was the sponsor in 1973 with Jackie Gleason. American Motors Corporation backed the event in 1981 as the "American Motors Inverrary Classic". From 1982 until 2023, American Honda Motor Company was the title sponsor, and the tournament was known as The Honda Classic. In late 2023, Cognizant became the new title sponsor; as a result, the name of the event was changed.^[2]

Tournament history

The tournament's predecessor, the National Airlines Open Invitational, ran for three seasons from 1969 through 1971, all in late March at the Country Club of Miami in Hialeah. The Gleason tournament replaced it on the schedule a month earlier in 1972 at the Inverrary Country Club (East course) in Lauderhill and was among the richest events on tour with an inaugural purse of $260,000 and a $52,000 winner's share.^[3]

Gleason hosted a popular TV variety show with many friends in the entertainment industry and was well known on the PGA Tour at the Doral stop. He was eager to put his name on the new tournament.^[4] The 1976 tournament was billed as the Tournament Players Championship held in late February (as the early editions of the tournament were held as established tournaments with an increased purse and qualifications), won by Jack Nicklaus. Gleason's nine-year affiliation ended after 1980 when PGA Tour officials removed him from Tournament Players Championship promotions and focused on commercialization to provide more revenue.^[4][5]

The 1981 event was renamed "American Motors Inverrary Classic" as American Motors Corporation sponsored it.^[6][7][8] The following two years, it was known as the "Honda Inverrary Classic" after a switch in sponsor to American Honda Motor Company.^[9][1]

During this time, the tournament was staged at different Broward County courses giving the Honda Classic "a reputation as a rootless tournament that struggled to attract the top golfers" and it faced decreasing attendance.^[6] In 1984, the tournament moved to TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, where it remained until 1991.

From 1992 through 1995, the event was held at the Weston Hills Golf & Country Club in Weston. It then returned to Coral Springs, first at the TPC at Eagle Trace in 1996, and then at the TPC at Heron Bay from 1997 until 2002. In 2003, the event moved to Palm Beach Gardens, first at the Country Club at Mirasol through 2006,^[10] then to the Champion Course at PGA National Resort and Spa in 2007.^[11]

Since 2007, the tournament's primary beneficiary is the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation, chaired by Barbara Nicklaus, wife of hall of fame golfer Jack Nicklaus.

IMG bought the tournament's management company in 2013.^[12] The event grew in attendance and charitable contributions under IMG, but the player field suffered primarily because of the schedule that was set by the PGA Tour.^[13] By late 2023, Honda ended sponsorship and there was concern about the demise of the biggest sporting event held in Palm Beach County.^[13] However, control of the event was moved to PGA Tour's Championship Management Division, a six-year sponsorship was signed with Cognizant, and the event was renamed.^[13]

Player participation

Some celebrated players have won this tournament, including Nicklaus in three consecutive years, from 1976 (TPC) to 1978, the only consecutive winner in its history. However, the Honda Classic had acquired a reputation for struggling to attract the top players as it moved from course to course in South Florida.^[6] Since 2007, tournament has seen an improved player field, largely due to the decision to make PGA National the tournament's permanent home.

The prize money is comparable to other regular PGA Tour events. The total purse was $6.4 million in 2017, with a top prize of $1.152 million (this can be contrasted to the total purse in 1981 of $300,000 (the equivalent of only $1,037,592 in 2024 dollars^[14]). The original winner's share of $52,000 in 1972 made it one of the richest stops on tour,^[3] greater than for any of the four majors; it was more than double that of the Masters, which had a first prize of $25,000 in 1972.^[15]

Tournament highlights

• 1972: Tom Weiskopf outdueled Jack Nicklaus by one shot to win the first edition.^[3][16]
• 1974: Leonard Thompson earned the first of his three PGA Tour wins, one shot ahead of Hale Irwin. After his victory, Thompson donated $10,000 of his winnings to the Boys Clubs of America.^[17]
• 1978: Jack Nicklaus birdied the last five holes to defeat Grier Jones by one shot,^[18] for his third consecutive win at Inverrary.
• 1986: Monday qualifier Kenny Knox won by a stroke over Clarence Rose, Jodie Mudd, Andy Bean, and John Mahaffey in spite of shooting a third round 80.^[19]
• 1990: John Huston wore three different pairs of shoes in practice and during the tournament after the PGA declared his wedge-soled Weight-Rites illegal.^[20]
• 1991: Steve Pate won by three strokes despite returning the worst final-round score by a PGA Tour tournament winner in ten years, a 75.^[21]
• 1992: Corey Pavin defeated Fred Couples in a sudden-death playoff after holing an 8-iron from 136-yards on the final hole to tie for the lead.^[22]
• 1996: Tim Herron became the first PGA Tour rookie in 13 years to win a tournament wire-to-wire.^[23]
• 2004: Thirty-eight-year-old PGA Tour rookie Todd Hamilton won by one shot over Davis Love III.^[24] Hamilton would go on to win The Open Championship later that year.
• 2012: With his win, Rory McIlroy rose to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time.^[25] Brian Harman shot a course record 61 in the second round.^[26]
• 2025: Jake Knapp scored a 59 during the first round.^[27] He finished in a tie for sixth, 4 strokes behind winner Joe Highsmith, who became the first golfer in nine years to win a PGA Tour event after making the cut on the number.

Tournament hosts

Years	No.	Venue	City	State
2007–present	18	PGA National Resort and Spa (Champion Course)	Palm Beach Gardens	Florida
2003–2006	4	Country Club at Mirasol
1997–2002	6	TPC at Heron Bay	Coral Springs
1996	1	TPC Eagle Trace
1992–1995	4	Weston Hills Golf and C.C.	Weston
1984–1991	8	TPC Eagle Trace	Coral Springs
1972–1983	11	Inverrary Country Club (East Course)	Lauderhill

• No event in 1976, Inverrary hosted the Tournament Players Championship.

Winners

Year	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Purse (US$)	Winner's share ($)
Cognizant Classic
2025	Joe Highsmith	265	−19	2 strokes	Jacob Bridgeman J. J. Spaun	9,200,000	1,656,000
2024	Austin Eckroat	267	−17	3 strokes	Min Woo Lee Erik van Rooyen	9,000,000	1,620,000
The Honda Classic
2023	Chris Kirk	266	−14	Playoff	Eric Cole	8,400,000	1,512,000
2022	Sepp Straka	270	−10	1 stroke	Shane Lowry	8,000,000	1,440,000
2021	Matt Jones	268	−12	5 strokes	Brandon Hagy	7,000,000	1,260,000
2020	Im Sung-jae	274	−6	1 stroke	Mackenzie Hughes	7,000,000	1,260,000
2019	Keith Mitchell	271	−9	1 stroke	Rickie Fowler Brooks Koepka	6,800,000	1,224,000
2018	Justin Thomas	272	−8	Playoff	Luke List	6,600,000	1,188,000
2017	Rickie Fowler	268	−12	4 strokes	Morgan Hoffmann Gary Woodland	6,400,000	1,152,000
2016	Adam Scott	271	−9	1 stroke	Sergio García	6,100,000	1,098,000
2015	Pádraig Harrington (2)	274	−6	Playoff	Daniel Berger	6,100,000	1,098,000
2014	Russell Henley	272	−8	Playoff	Russell Knox Rory McIlroy Ryan Palmer	6,000,000	1,080,000
2013	Michael Thompson	271	−9	2 strokes	Geoff Ogilvy	6,000,000	1,080,000
2012	Rory McIlroy	268	−12	2 strokes	Tom Gillis Tiger Woods	5,700,000	1,026,000
2011	Rory Sabbatini	271	−9	1 stroke	Yang Yong-eun	5,700,000	1,026,000
2010	Camilo Villegas	267	−13	5 strokes	Anthony Kim	5,600,000	1,008,000
2009	Yang Yong-eun	271	−9	1 stroke	John Rollins	5,600,000	1,008,000
2008	Ernie Els	274	−6	1 stroke	Luke Donald	5,500,000	990,000
2007	Mark Wilson	275	−5	Playoff	José Cóceres Camilo Villegas Boo Weekley	5,500,000	990,000
2006	Luke Donald	276	−12	2 strokes	Geoff Ogilvy	5,500,000	990,000
2005	Pádraig Harrington	274	−14	Playoff	Joe Ogilvie Vijay Singh	5,500,000	990,000
2004	Todd Hamilton	276	−12	1 stroke	Davis Love III	5,000,000	900,000
2003	Justin Leonard	264	−24	1 stroke	Chad Campbell Davis Love III	5,000,000	900,000
2002	Matt Kuchar	269	−19	2 strokes	Brad Faxon Joey Sindelar	3,500,000	630,000
Honda Classic
2001	Jesper Parnevik	270	−18	1 stroke	Mark Calcavecchia Geoff Ogilvy Craig Perks	3,200,000	576,000
2000	Dudley Hart	269	−19	1 stroke	J. P. Hayes Kevin Wentworth	2,900,000	522,000
1999	Vijay Singh	277	−11	2 strokes	Payne Stewart	2,600,000	468,000
1998	Mark Calcavecchia (2)	270	−18	3 strokes	Vijay Singh	1,800,000	324,000
1997	Stuart Appleby	274	−14	1 stroke	Michael Bradley Payne Stewart	1,500,000	270,000
1996	Tim Herron	271	−17	4 strokes	Mark McCumber	1,300,000	234,000
1995	Mark O'Meara	275	−9	1 stroke	Nick Faldo	1,200,000	216,000
1994	Nick Price	276	−8	1 stroke	Craig Parry	1,100,000	198,000
1993	Fred Couples	207[a]	−9	Playoff	Robert Gamez	1,100,000	198,000
1992	Corey Pavin	273	−15	Playoff	Fred Couples	1,100,000	198,000
1991	Steve Pate	279	−9	3 strokes	Paul Azinger Dan Halldorson	1,000,000	180,000
1990	John Huston	282	−6	2 strokes	Mark Calcavecchia	1,000,000	180,000
1989	Blaine McCallister	266	−22	4 strokes	Payne Stewart	800,000	144,000
1988	Joey Sindelar	276	−12	2 strokes	Ed Fiori Sandy Lyle Payne Stewart	700,000	126,000
1987	Mark Calcavecchia	279	−9	3 strokes	Bernhard Langer Payne Stewart	600,000	108,000
1986	Kenny Knox	287	−1	1 stroke	Andy Bean John Mahaffey Jodie Mudd Clarence Rose	500,000	90,000
1985	Curtis Strange	275	−13	Playoff	Peter Jacobsen	500,000	90,000
1984	Bruce Lietzke	280	−8	Playoff	Andy Bean	500,000	90,000
Honda Inverrary Classic
1983	Johnny Miller (2)	278	−10	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus	400,000	72,000
1982	Hale Irwin	269	−19	1 stroke	George Burns Tom Kite	400,000	72,000
American Motors Inverrary Classic
1981	Tom Kite	274	−14	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus	300,000	54,000
Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic
1980	Johnny Miller	274	−14	2 strokes	Charles Coody Bruce Lietzke	300,000	54,000
1979	Larry Nelson	274	−14	3 strokes	Grier Jones	300,000	54,000
1978	Jack Nicklaus (2)	276	−12	1 stroke	Grier Jones	250,000	50,000
1977	Jack Nicklaus	275	−13	5 strokes	Gary Player	250,000	50,000
1976	See 1976 Tournament Players Championship
1975	Bob Murphy	273	−15	1 stroke	Eddie Pearce	260,000	52,000
1974	Leonard Thompson	278	−10	1 stroke	Hale Irwin	260,000	52,000
Jackie Gleason Inverrary-National Airlines Classic
1973	Lee Trevino	279	−9	1 stroke	Forrest Fezler	260,000	52,000
Jackie Gleason's Inverrary Classic
1972	Tom Weiskopf	278	−10	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus	260,000	52,000

Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Sources:^[28][29]

Notes

1. Shortened to 54 holes due to weather.