If Austin Eckroat can finish on top of the leaderboard this week at the 2025 Cognizant Classic, he’ll become the first golfer since Jack Nicklaus (1977-78) to win this event in back-to-back years. Eckroat will have to stave off a number of serious contenders if he wants to rewrite the history books. Shane Lowry, Jordan Spieth, Russell Henley, and Rickie Fowler are among the experienced players looking to dethrone Eckroat and win the Cognizant Classic 2025. Play gets underway from The Champion Course at PGA National on Thursday, Feb. 27.
Lowry, a major winner and three-time PGA Tour champion, is the 20-1 favorite, according to the latest 2025 Cognizant Classic odds. He’s followed by Henley (22-1), Sungjae Im (22-1) and Sepp Straka (22-1) on the PGA odds board. Eckroat is going off as a 50-1 longshot to repeat. Before locking in your 2025 Cognizant Classic picks, be sure to see the golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine’s proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June 2020. In fact, the model is up over $9,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.
This same model has also nailed a whopping 13 majors entering the weekend, including the 2024 Masters — its third Masters in a row — and last year’s PGA Championship and U.S. Open. Anyone who has followed its sports betting picks could have seen massive returns on betting apps like FanDuel, DraftKings and Fanatics.
Now that the 2025 Cognizant Classic field is locked in, SportsLine simulated the tournament 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard.
2025 Cognizant Classic predictions
One major surprise the model is calling for at the 2025 Cognizant Classic: Russell Henley, a four-time PGA Tour champion and one of the top favorites, stumbles this week and barely cracks the top five. Henley enters this week’s event ranked 17th in the Official World Golf Ranking and has finished T-10 or better in two of his last three starts on the PGA Tour.
However, Henley hasn’t won a PGA Tour event since 2022 and has struggled mightily off the tee this season. The 35-year-old enters this week’s event ranked 99th in total driving (191), 148th in strokes gained: off the tee (-0.277) and 179th in driving distance (288.8). He also finished T-41 at this tournament last year. He’s not a strong pick to win it all and there are far better values in the 2025 Cognizant Classic field. See who else to fade here.
Another surprise: Denny McCarthy, a 40-1 longshot, makes a strong run at the title. He has a much better chance to win it all than his odds imply, so he’s a target for anyone looking for a huge payday.
McCarthy is still searching for his first win on the PGA Tour, but he has all the tools needed to be in the mix at PGA National this week. He’s been playing well in recent weeks, finishing T-16 or better in three of his last four starts on the PGA Tour. He’s coming off a T-5 finish at the Genesis Invitational and is ranked 22nd in scoring average (69.25) and 48th in greens in regulation percentage (71.39%). Those impressive stats, plus his long odds, make him a strong value pick for your 2025 Cognizant Classic bets. See who else to pick here.
How to make 2025 Cognizant Classic picks
The model is also targeting four other golfers with odds of 30-1 or longer who will make a strong run at the title. Anyone who backs these longshots could hit it big. You can only see the model’s picks here.
Who will win the 2025 Cognizant Classic, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Check out the 2025 Cognizant Classic odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected leaderboard, all from the model that’s nailed 13 golf majors, including the last three Masters and three majors in 2024.
2025 Cognizant Classic odds, favorites
Get full 2025 Cognizant Classic picks, best bets and predictions here.
Shane Lowry +2000
Russell Henley +2200
Sungjae Im +2200
Sepp Straka +2200
Daniel Berger +2800
Taylor Pendrith +3000
Min Woo Lee +3300
Byeong Hun An +3500
Keith Mitchell +3500
Denny Mccarthy +4000
Cameron Young +4000
Jordan Spieth +4000
Davis Thompson +4000
Michael Kim +4500
Ben Griffin +4500
Patrick Rodgers +5000
Billy Horschel +5000
Kurt Kitayama +5000
J.J. Spaun +5000
Max Greyserman +5000
Luke Clanton +5000
Andrew Novak +5000
Austin Eckroat +5000
Alex Smalley +5500
Rickie Fowler +5500
Lucas Glover +5500
Gary Woodland +5500
Jhonattan Vegas +5500
Nicolai Hojgaard +6000
Brian Harman +6000
Harry Hall +6000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6000
Taylor Moore +6000
Chris Kirk +7000
Beau Hossler +7000
Seamus Power +7000
Niklas Norgaard +7500
Bud Cauley +7500
Jake Knapp +8000
Lee Hodges +8000
Eric Cole +8000
Kevin Roy +9000
Ryan Gerard +9000
Doug Ghim +9000
Mackenzie Hughes +9000
Pierceson Coody +9000
C.T. Pan +9000
Thorbjorn Olesen +9000
Brian Campbell +9000
Michael Thorbjornsen +10000
Isaiah Salinda +11000
Ryan Fox +11000
Adam Schenk +11000
Nicolas Echavarria +11000
Erik Van Rooyen +11000
Sam Ryder +11000
Jesper Svensson +12000
Chan Kim +12000
Jacob Bridgeman +12000
Mac Meissner +12000
Joe Highsmith +12000
Greyson Sigg +12000
Justin Lower +12000
Adam Svensson +12000
Kyoung-Hoon Lee +12000
Matt Wallace +12000
Mark Hubbard +12000
Matt Kuchar +12000
Victor Perez +12000
Tom Hoge +12000
Quade Cummins +15000
Patrick Fishburn +15000
Antoine Rozner +15000
Kristoffer Ventura +15000
Jackson Suber +15000
Andrew Putnam +15000
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