Cognizant Classic DraftKings PGA DFS picks 2024: Best golf lineup

Welcome back to the Cognizant Classic! Well, it's actually the first Cognizant Classic, but we know this annual trip to PGA National as the Honda Classic from over the years, now with a new sponsor. But it's still the same Bear Trap and one of the most fascinating tests on the PGA Tour. It's also a difficult test for us tackling the DraftKings PGA DFS slate.

The Cognizant Classic is an event wherein we've seen that approach play, driving accuracy, and short game are all important. But it's also an event where there is trouble all over the place with water on the vast majority of the holes. Big numbers are almost always in play, which creates a lot of volatility and, in many cases, some sporadic course history. Throw in the wind, and that's only amplified.

But there are still ways to get after this tournament on the PGA DFS slate. So let's get right into our DraftKings picks for the 2024 Cognizant Classic, starting with our top plays and top fades from each pricing tier before unpacking our best lineup for the week.

Cognizant Classic DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Plays

$10K Range: Russell Henley ($10,200) - Despite the biggest names in the field this week being in this range, Russell Henley just sticks out. He's a past winner here at PGA National (2014) but has also registered a T20, T8 and T3 in the last three starts. It's not hard to see why. His accuracy off the tee, strong approach play, and putting on Bermuda all fit to a tee. He's already got a T4 at the Sony, a place he also has great history, so Henley doing that again makes sense. Also Consider: Tom Kim ($10,100)

$9K Range: Keith Mitchell ($9,000) - Picking a top play in the 9K range was no easy task this week but, due to his price at the bottom of the range, I have to land on Keith Mitchell. A winner at this event in 2019, Mitchell also finished T9 in 2022, the last time he played here. Cashmere Keith's recent form has been stellar too, gaining 1.91 strokes ball striking over the last 16 rounds and also being slightly above average with the flat stick. He could legitimately contend to win this week. Also Consider: Eric Cole ($9,900), J.T. Poston ($9,800), Chris Kirk ($9,400), Shane Lowry ($9,300), Daniel Berger ($9,200)

$8K Range: Matthieu Pavon ($8,700) - Legitmately, who is hotter than Matthieu Pavon in 2024? He has a win at Farmers, a T3 at Pebble Beach and a T7 at Sony already this year. His approach play and putting have been his biggest weapons in this, but specifically the best on the PGA Tour in proximity from 150-200 yards this season. That's a crucial range at PGA National, so I don't expect his hot start to 2024 to stop. Also Consider: Stephan Jaeger ($8,800), Sepp Straka ($8,600), Alex Noren ($8,200)

$7K Range: Christiaan Bezuidenhout ($7,600) - Want to know who is leading this field in strokes gained approach over the last 16 measured rounds? Yep, it's Christiaan Bezuidenhout. He's been absolutely dialed of late and has consistently been reeling off Top 30 finishes. His lack of length with the driver won't hurt him here and his approach play combined with putting prowess should shine. He's a legit sleeper and a great add to your lineup at this price. Also Consider: Adam Svensson ($7,700), Mark Hubbard ($7,500), Erik Van Rooyen ($7,400), Doug Ghim ($7,000)

$6K Range: Carson Young ($6,700) - Frankly, I'm not sure why we're getting Carson Young at this price, but I'm just going to take advantage of it and not fight it. Young is coming off of his best finish of the year last week with a T8 in Mexico and the numbers are great. He's gaining more than a stroke ball striking over the last 16 rounds with a slightly above-average putter. This looks like a high 7K golfer, so having him at this price makes a ton of sense. Also Consider: Davis Thompson ($6,800), Jhonattan Vegas ($6,600), Brandon Wu ($6,600), Justin Lower ($6,400), Dylan Wu ($6,100)

$5K Range: Andrew Novak ($5,900) - This is just a misprice on Andrew Novak, no two ways about it. Novak comes to the Cognizant Classic off of back-to-back T8 finishes and gaining 0.93 strokes on approach over his last 16 rounds. His driver is short and can be a little wild, which does worry me slightly, but his overall recent form is just too good for him to be in the $5K range. Also Consider: Victor Perez ($5,600), Parker Coody ($5,100)

Cognizant Classic DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Fades

$10K Range: Rory McIlroy ($12,200) - I can't justify this price for Rory McIlroy this week at $1.5K more expensive than the second highest-priced golfer in the field. Rory has looked strong at times so far in 2024 but he's suffered from some volatility and big numbers on the scorecard. That's not a comforting notion at PGA National when there's trouble everywhere. Make no mistake, there's a world where Rory could win this week, but there's also a world where he misses the cut. I can't pay this price for that risk.

$9K Range: Corey Conners ($9,100) - The ball striking numbers right now look like typical Corey Conners. Unfortunately, the short game has been even worse than the normally low expectations for the Canadian than we've even come to expect over the years. Yes, he has three straight finishes of T31 or better coming into this week, but I think his ceiling is limited with the state of his currently broken short game.

$8K Range: Denny McCarthy ($8,900) - Because of the importance of approach game and putting this week, people are probably going to like Denny McCarthy quite a bit. But his game just isn't there right now. He's a short hitter but his accuracy off of the tee hasn't been there lately. Neither has his approach play. Even if the putter is hot, the way he's striking the ball with all of the big numbers looming around PGA National is too much risk for me to take on at the top of the $8K range.

$7K Range: Rickie Fowler ($7,500) - The low projected ownership and name-brand of Rickie Fowler might entice you. Just let that ownership be low, though, because his game deserves it right now. He's still losing strokes across the board right now, most importantly being wildly off the planet with the driver. That's a terrible recipe for this course and he could be ejected from this tournament by Thursday afternoon.

Cognizant Classic 2024: Best DraftKings golf PGA DFS lineup

We've got Mitchell, Pavon, and Young from our top plays, but I love the rest of this build as well, starting with Eric Cole. The runner-up here last year who lost in a playoff, he's continued to be a Top 20 machine with a bunch of Top 10s involved too. It's no wonder he had success at PGA National as well with accurate driving, strong approach play, and a great putter. He's a contender this week, for sure.

Next we have Sepp Straka, my actual pick to win this week and a previous winner from 2022. He followed that up with a T5 last year and you can see why. He's accurate with the driver and thrives from the 150-200 yard approach range. He's also putted much better on Bermuda historically, so with him trending ball striking-wise lately, I love for him to show up in a big way.

That leaves us with Doug Ghim. His history here is poor with three missed cuts in as many starts in the last five years. But he comes in playing beautifully with T13, T12 and T8 finishes in his last three starts. He's gaining just shy of 1.40 strokes with his ball striking and playing well around the greens too. A super-accurate driver as well, I love for him to finally get a good finish at this tournament.