Jordan Spieth was a late entry Friday into the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches, a field that includes 16 of the top 50 in the current world ranking along with several local favorites and former winners.
The field of 144 features five golfers from the top 22: No. 17 Russell Henley, No. 18 Sepp Straka, No. 19 Shane Lowry of Jupiter, No. 21 Billy Horschel and No. 22 Sungjae Im. But for the fourth time in the past five years, the event will not include a top 10 golfer.
Spieth will play the event for the first time in his 12-year professional career. He is ranked 67th in the world after a difficult season last year that ended when he had surgery to repair a tendon in his left wrist. Spieth is a 13-time winner on the PGA Tour, including three majors, the 2015 Masters, 2015 U.S. Open, 2017 British Open.
In addition, several Palm Beach County residents, including Rickie Fowler, Daniel Berger and Gary Woodland, return for the event that starts Thursday on the Champion Course at PGA National.
The tournament is in its second year with Cognizant as the title sponsor and the PGA Tour’s Championship Management Division running the event.
Last year, Cognizant attracted 19 of the top 50, including No. 2 Rory McIlroy and No. 9 Matt Fitzpatrick, both of whom live locally and are sitting out this year’s tournament.
Another local not playing: Jupiter Island’s Tiger Woods, who is taking off the entire week when it comes to competitive golf. Woods also is not playing his TGL match Tuesday at the SoFi Center, which is about 5 miles from PGA National.
Still, the field has depth with 11 golfers ranked from No. 51 to 70 – including Spieth, Berger, Min Woo Lee and Eric Cole – and it is an upgrade from two years ago when just eight of the top 50 played.
Also signing up are the 2023 Ryder Cup captains: Europe’s Luke Donald and the USA’s Zach Johnson. Donald, who lives in Jupiter, returns as the European captain for this year’s competition at Bethpage Black in New York.
Luke Clanton, a Florida State junior, is in the field on a sponsor exemption. Clanton is looking to secure his PGA Tour card. He has 19 points in PGA Tour University Accelerated, one shy of the necessary points to clinch a tour card after the spring season.
The field includes 10 former winners, five of the past six: Austin Eckroat (2024), Chris Kirk (2023), Straka (2022), Im (2020) and Keith Mitchell (2019)
Eckroat is attempting to become the first back-to-back winner since Jack Nicklaus won three in a row from 1976-78.
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches
Feb. 26-March 2, Champion Course, PGA National
TV: Thursday, 2 p.m., GOLF; Friday, 2 p.m., GOLF; Saturday, 1 p.m., to NBC at 3 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m., to NBC at 3 p.m.
Defending champ: Austin Eckroat
Tickets: Daily grounds tickets are available for all days. Tickets are dynamically priced, so fans are encouraged to buy early to secure the lowest available price. Visit thecognizantclassic.com/tickets.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cognizant Classic field is in; includes 26 of top 70; Jordan Spieth
