Ryan Gerard looks for his second career win on the PGA Tour when he competes at this week's Cognizant Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He enters as the co-favorite with Shane Lowry at +1600 from FanDuel. Gerard, 26, has three professional wins, including his lone PGA Tour victory at Barracuda Championship last July. Last week at the Genesis Invitational, Gerard tied for 28th, 12 strokes back.
This year's Cognizant Classic gets underway at 6:45 a.m. ET on Thursday from the PGA National - Champion Course at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The tournament with a $9.6 million purse will be played on a par-71 course measuring 7,223 yards.
Besides Gerard and Lowry, other favorites include Nicolai Hojgaard (+1900), Rasmus Hojgaard (+2200), Michael Thorbjornsen (+2200) and Keith Mitchell (+2700). Joe Highsmith is the defending tournament champion, winning the 2025 event by two strokes over Jacob Bridgeman and J.J. Spaun. Highsmith is +15000 this year in the PGA odds.
Before making any 2026 Cognizant Classic picks, you NEED to see the predictions and best bets from elite golf expert Brady Kannon.
Kannon is an elite golfing handicapper with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. He has called eight major winners since 2013 and hit six PGA winners, including 110-1 longshot Harris English at the Farmers Insurance Open, in 2025. Additionally, he's 25-17-4 on head-to-head bets since joining SportsLine. Anyone who followed his lead could have been WAY UP!
Now, Kannon has been digging into this week's field to find the best betting value and just locked in his best bets to back. He's fading Gerard (14-1 at FanDuel).
"We saw a 26-year old born in the latter half of 1999 win last week at Riviera but I am not banking on yet another 'Party like it's 1999' happening again for a second straight 26-year old this week in Palm Beach Gardens," Kannon said. "Gerard is a very good player who notched his first PGA Tour win in his rookie year last season. He began this year red-hot, with two straight runner-up finishes but now in this watered-down field, he is at the very top of the board as the betting favorite – being priced the same if not lower than Shane Lowry. It is a very different world, going from 30-40-50-to-1 longshot to lone favorite and now being "expected" to win the golf tournament. It may not help that Gerard resides in nearby Jupiter, Florida. Often time "home games" can be difficult in golf as local fan support, media commitments, distractions, and expectations are all heightened and the shine of the spotlight grows even more intense. I'm not necessarily expecting Gerard to miss the cut but I won't be betting him to win either – and I may see if I can find a particular head-to-head matchup in which to go against him."
Kannon has revealed his best bet, and it's a surprising golfer who returns over 45-1 and is a perfect course fit!
What are the best bets for the 2026 Cognizant Classic, and which massive longshot should you back? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Brady Kannon's best picks, all from the expert who nailed four winners last season!
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Written by Daniel Kohn
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