Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches

2024 Cognizant Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

From nightclub bouncer to PGA TOUR winner, it’s been quite a ride for Jake Knapp!

For a player that’s never won at a grade higher than the PGA TOUR Canada, Knapp took to life as a 54-hole leader amongst the big boys with some aplomb.

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Okay, so he was missing fairways with regularity, but he showed plenty of gumption to recover from the long grass and post a low enough score – even par – to hold off nearest challenger Sami Valimaki.

In truth, Knapp did the damage over the first three rounds, delivering a ball-striking performance from the gods and even topping the SG: Putting ranks on Saturday.

Holding a four-shot lead with a round to play, it would have taken something extraordinary for the Californian to not complete a maiden PGA TOUR triumph. That ensures he won’t be working the doors at the clubs any time soon….

The year marches on with a vengeance into the Florida Swing, with the Honda – sorry, Cognizant Classic – first up on the schedule.

We head back to PGA National, the gnarly, fiddly Par 70 track beloved by designer Jack Nicklaus to the extent that a three-hole stretch – the Bear Trap – has taken on his moniker. That’s a tough trio of holes from 15 through 17, but there’s plenty more on the real estate too, and a windy and dry weather forecast should mean that the layout will play as tough as possible.

Winning scores have ranged from -6 to -14 here over the past decade, which helps to explain the role that the wind plays in its malleability. But that’s only part of the problem, because this is also one of the wateriest, if that’s a word, layouts you’ll see on the PGA TOUR, with genuine water trouble on 14 holes – not to mention plenty of sand too.

Historically, the driver will be sheathed here on a number of holes, with finding the short grass of obvious importance given the penal nature of PGA National.

Rory McIlroy, a winner and a runner-up here, returns for the first time since 2018, leading a somewhat weak field that also includes Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tom Kim and former PGA National winners like Russell Henley, Keith Mitchell and Sepp Straka.

So far, 2024 has been the year of the longshots and the underdogs, with Knapp becoming the third rookie to win on the PGA TOUR this year – there was only three rookie winners all-season long in 2022-23!

So what do we expect this week? If anything, we’ve learned to expect the unexpected. But here’s our sleeper shortlist for the 2024 Cognizant Classic, which may just reveal the identity of this week’s champion.

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Adam Svensson – 50/1 – A player with the ability to keep his golf ball on a tight leash, PGA National is an ideal environment for Adam Svensson.

He has a top-10 here and at the Sony Open, which vindicates such bullishness, and these technical tests really are where the Canadian can come to the fore.

Svensson finished T10 last time out at the Genesis Invitational, and that is an excellent primer ahead of a return to a venue where he has performed favorably in the past.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout – 70/1 – Playing really good golf, without necessarily getting full reward for it of late, has been Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

The South African has gained more than +1.00 strokes on the field on approach in each of his last five PGA TOUR starts, but aside from solo second at the American Express he only has one other top-20 to show for it.

But the switch to a gnarly Par 70 like PGA National may just do the job, as Bezuidenhout is at his best on tracks where length off the tee don’t matter and where there’s gains to be made with irons in hand. His putting remains steadfastly consistent, too.

Doug Ghim – 70/1 – In theory, Doug Ghim was up against it at the Mexico Open, give his relative lack of length to attack Vidanta.

But he continued to serve up some outstanding approach play – the like that swept him to T12 and T13 finishes at the Phoenix and Farmers, and now we head to a PGA National track that should suit his shorter, accurate style. 

Although his putter was slightly cold in Mexico, that can happen to the best of players on Paspalum greens. Expect an uptick back on Bermuda.

Akshay Bhatia – 75/1 – It can be easy to sometimes give up on players that have missed a cut when you’ve drafted them.

But that would be harsh on Akshay Bhatia, whose two missed weekends came at two of the funkier events on the recent schedule at the Phoenix Open and American Express.

Back at a venue where ball control is at a premium, Bhatia should thrive once more – remember, he’s already had three finishes of T14 or better in 2024, with one of those coming at the correlating Sony Open.

Still hitting the ball nicely and improving on the greens, Bhatia has the game to succeed at PGA National.

Davis Thompson – 90/1 – PGA National is the kind of test that can take the big stick out of the hand of many in the field, which will disappoint Davis Thompson no end.

But if you look at Keith Mitchell, a former winner in this event and for whom the driver is arguably his most advantage-gaining club in his bag, these big hitters can still make it work.

Which brings us to Davis Thompson, who is hitting his irons and wedges so pure at the minute that it would be remiss to leave him off the staking plan. Who knows, perhaps sheathing the big stick will actually improve this mammoth, but wayward, hitter’s chances of lifting a PGA TOUR trophy?

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the Cognizant Classic here.

Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2023-2024)

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