The best golfer in a bad field ...

Cognizant Classic: A closer look

This week's stop on the PGA Tour, The Cognizant Classic, begins Thursday at PGA National in Palm Beach, Fla. (par-71). An already lackluster field was weakened further when Jacob Bridgeman, last week's Genesis winner and the runner-up in this event last year, Ben Griffin and Adam Scott withdrew Monday. If you're looking to cash a big ticket this may be the week to do it. Here's a look at some recent winners and their opening odds:

2025: Joe Highsmith (120/1) 2024: Austin Eckroat (110/1) 2023: Chris Kirk (25/1) 2022: Sepp Straka (125/1) 2021: Matt Jones (70/1) 2020: Sungjae Im (35/1) 2019: Keith Mitchell (300/1) 2018: Justin Thomas (12/1) 2017: Rickie Fowler (16/1) 2016: Adam Scott (20/1) 2015: Padraig Harrington (400/1) 2014: Russell Henley (300/1) 2013: Michael Thompson (300/1) 2012: Rory McIlroy (9/1) 2011: Rory Sabbatini (80/1) 2010: Camilo Villegas (30/1)

Notes on a few golfers in the field:

-- Shane Lowry (19/1) has finished among the top five in this tournament in three of the last four years.

-- Ryan Gerard (18/1) made his PGA TOUR debut here in 2023 and finished fourth.

-- Daniel Berger (33/1) was a late addition to the field Friday and has three top-four finishes in this tourney, including a playoff loss in 2015.

RBROWNBETS: We're going to avoid the temptation to pick a long shot and back Nicolai Højgaard, the third choice on the betting menu (+2150). Of the players in the field, Højgaard has been the best at avoiding bogeys this season (6.94 percent). He also appears to be in good form, having finished third at the Phoenix Open and fourth at the Dubai Invitational. We'll recommend taking Hojgaard to win the tournament outright and also put a few dollars on him to finish in the top 20 at plus money (+122).