PGA Tour Winners Weigh In On 'Weaker' Cognizant Classic Field

Justin Thomas (left) and Billy Horschel look on during a TGL match in 2026 — (Image credit: Getty Images)

The field for this week's Cognizant Classic is very different to last week's Genesis Invitational - that much is undeniably true.

The Genesis Invitational - which was a Signature Event - featured all of the world's top-10, 18 of the top-20 and 41 of the top-50 all packed into its 72-man field. Max Homa at World No.148 was the lowest-ranked player.

Meanwhile, there are set to be no players inside the world's top-20 teeing it up at PGA National for the regular tour event following Ben Griffin and Jacob Bridgeman withdrawing, with World No.26 Ryan Gerard the top-ranked player. The Cognizant Classic took another blow when Adam Scott became the latest big name to withdraw.

But why are so many of the world's brightest stars choosing to sit this one out? It's probably not just because the overall payout drops from $20 million to less than $10 million, although that may not help.

A PGA logo in red flowers in front of a Cognizant grandstand

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It is much more likely the calibre of pro playing this week has dropped by a small level simply because of where the Cognizant Classic sits in the schedule.

The Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational marked consecutive Signature Events on the PGA Tour. Then comes the Cognizant Classic.

After that, there is another Signature Event in the Arnold Palmer Invitational before The Players Championship - the most prestigious non-Major in the world and the most lucrative tournament anywhere.

As a result, players basically have to choose between playing at least five weeks in a row or taking one event off to ensure they're fully fit for the tournaments they do play.

Touching on the issue after Atlanta Drive's TGL double-header on Monday night, Billy Horschel expressed great empathy towards one of his home-state tournaments.

However, the Florida-born pro admitted the problem has been active for many years already and the Cognizant Classic is far from the only tournament which is victim to this issue.

Horschel said: "Listen, it's tough with any tournament on the PGA Tour schedule, outside of Signature Events, due to a multitude of reasons.

"We had this issue before the Signature Events were around. We've always had this issue.

"A decade ago this event was unbelievable with the field, but where it fell in the schedule was really good for a lot of the guys that lived here. It wasn't on the back end of an LA or a Riviera.

"This field has sort of been up and down the last couple years. When you've got so many events on the PGA Tour schedule and you've got guys trying to figure out where they're going to fit, it's tough to fill a field.

"It's just tough. It's [not just] Cognizant; there's a whole bunch of other tournaments that are struggling."

Tournaments like the Cognizant Classic missing out on the world's top talent may prove to be a thing of the past if PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp and the rest of the Future Competitions Committee press forward with their reported plans to significantly shake up the season.

There has been talk of a post-Super Bowl start, the removal of Signature Events and an emphasis on 'scarcity' - but as yet nothing is concrete.

2018 Honda Classic (now Cognizant Classic) winner Justin Thomas called the difficulty of choosing a schedule in the current climate "a great problem to have" but admitted the PGA Tour's set-up means some events are always going to miss out on the top names.

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp standing alongside Tiger Woods — PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp and Tiger Woods are part of the FCC

Speaking after his return from surgery in a TGL double-header on Monday night, Thomas was asked if the Cognizant Classic needs to shift to a different spot in the season if it's to draw a stronger field.

He said: "Yeah, I mean, there's obviously a lot of arguments or a lot of different reasons, I guess. But... it's a bummer.

"It's one of those events that it has fallen at an unfortunate time in the schedule. I think it's both a great thing and a bad thing of our schedule, how great it is and the amount of great golf courses that we go to.

Justin Thomas hits an iron shot during a TGL match in 2026

"It kills me that I can't play Torrey Pines every year. Like Torrey Pines South to me is such a great golf course. It fits my eye so well. I like the North Course, but I can't play in it every year.

"Or Colonial is an event in the past where -- I love Colonial. I think that golf course is incredible, but I can't play four or five in a row. It's unfortunate.

"It's a great, great problem to have, but it's just one of those things the way that guys need to play certain events or feel like they give themselves the best opportunity to win and make the most points as possible. It's just kind of where it falls kind of thing."

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Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Joaquin Niemann. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and recently reached his Handicap goal of 18 for the first time.

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