After a week in Mexico, the PGA Tour returns to America and PGA National for the Cognizant Classic. A wide open field will tee it up this week with a lot of players in the field needing to prove a point and a few others looking to become a first time winner on tour. I have whittled it down to my top 3 picks for the week who fall in both of the categories above.
Jordan Spieth
My first player is where my money has gone this week and that is Jordan Spieth. Spieth had a good week in a stronger field at TPC Scottsdale finishing tied for 4th, however 8 shots behind eventual winner Thomas Detry. Spieth was a surprise inclusion in this weeks field after confirming his attendance only last week that he will be teeing it up. He isn’t the player we saw win major championships and big events but when playing in Phoenix there were moments where he looked like if he was to become fully healthy again he could start to contend to win tournaments again. At 40/1, I thought those odds were too good to pass up.
Luke Clanton
Clanton is a player who has contended in tournaments in the past but has not really got started this year. However I think he will come to this tournament with a lot of confidence behind him, needing to only make the cut to confirm a tour card for next season I think he will do this quite comfortably and go on a run for the title. It might look strange seeing an amateur only 45/1 to win the tournament but after Nick Dunlap winning last season at the Barracuda Championship and making the tour championship at the end of the season, these amateur players look like a real talented bunch who will be able to compete at the business end come Sunday. One of only 24 players to finish under par at the Farmers Insurance this year in tough conditions, Clanton has shown real promise as a player and has made a real impression considering his first start with the pro’s was only at the US Open last year.
Denny McCarthy
This man has been very unlucky not to find himself in the winners circle on the PGA Tour so far. Missing out at the Valero Texas Open last year in a playoff against Akshay Bhatia is the closest he has come to a win as well as being beaten by Viktor Hovland in a playoff for the Memorial Tournament back in 2023, McCarthy could be forgiven for thinking is this win ever going to happen. He has however started the season very well, 5 events played, 5 cuts made and 3 of which have resulted in finishes in the top 25, one of which was a tied for 5th in a very strong field at the Genesis Invitational where he went off in the final group with Patrick Rodgers, but were ultimately blown away by the sheer brilliance of Ludvig Åberg. I think McCarthy will definitely be a winner on the tour this year and this is a great time to do it with maybe not a full field of players and momentum on his side.
