Welcome to Thursday, and another edition of ‘Dawgs on Tour. But let’s check in to see the final results from the Genesis Invitational in La-La Land.
The field was cut from 72 down to 50 players after 2 rounds, and that score was even par/142 strokes. Unfortunately Russell Henley recorded 144 strokes, so he slammed his trunk and went home.
Brian Harman made the cut on the number, but he shot 76-71 over the weekend to tie for last place (and $51,500 in earnings).
Sepp Straka was 4 under par Saturday,
and apparently decided that was too good. His Saturday 80 pretty much ensured he would fall to the bottom, and ultimately tied with Harman for the same score and same cash.
Harris English only made the weekend by a couple of shots and held serve with an 1 under 3rd round, but made some serious cash with a closing 65, jumping 16 spots on the leaderboard and $224,500.
The winner was Jacob Bridgeman, SC native and Clemson Tiger. His first PGA win was worth 700 FedEx points and $4 million. His wife of about 2 months is supposedly pleased with the outcome. Now onto this week’s Tour stop:
Tournament: Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, February 26-March 1, 2026.
Course: PGA National, (the Champion Course), par 71, 7,223 yards. Just outside of West Palm Beach, FL.
Purse: $9.6 million total, $1,728,000 to the winner. Less than half of what is offered in the Signature Events.
Defending Champ: Joe Highsmith, formerly of Pepperdine, made the cut on the number, and shot consecutive 7 under par 64s on the weekend to hold off a few others and overtake Jake Knapp (who choked on the last nine to give up the lead).
Fun Fact: The Nicklaus redesigned PGA National Champion course is one of 5 on the property. At one point, this course was home to the most balls in the water on the PGA Tour, and there is water on 15 holes. The 3 hole stretch of 15-17 is known as “The Bear Trap” thanks to Nicklaus’ tweaking, and is supposed to frighten everyone and remind you of Amen Corner at AGNC. It is definitely a tough combination, but the statue and naming makes it a little contrived.
TV Times: Thurs-Fri 2-6 pm ET on Golf Channel; Sat-Sun 1-3 pm ET Golf Channel and 3-6 pm ET NBC. CBS has given over to college basketball until after the Final 4, and will pick up golf at the Masters in early April.
‘Dawgs in the Field: 4. Brendon Todd, Davis Thompson, Chris Kirk, Keith Mitchell.
So now you get the title. After being the Honda Classic for a decade, Cognizant and apparently the Convention & Visitors Burea of Palm Beach County got together for a perfectly bland tournament title picking meeting. But the course is very difficult, and gives fits to every Tour pro.
The problem is that several big names aren’t competing. Thanks to having two Signature Events in a row, and Bay Hill next week with the Players 2 weeks after that, this tournament is getting skipped for rest by some of the top pros like Scheffler and McIlroy. And some highly ranked former Bulldogs like Henley, Harman, and Straka. No matter – this place is where ‘Dawgs come to win.
In the last 7 years, a Bulldog has finished in the top 10 every year here. That includes Sepp Straka’s first Tour win in 2022, Chris Kirk’s personal redemption win in 2023, and Keith Mitchell’s first Tour win in 2019. And going back further, Russell Henley’s second Tour win in 2014. So it’s a place both familiar and comfortable. And I expect more good things from Mitchell, who has shown early season flashes and won on this course.
If you don’t want to pin your hopes on a Georgia mens’ basketball team that is back to .500 in conference play and looking to secure its 20th win on the season, you might just forget those hoop dreams and come watch ‘Dawgs chasing little white balls. Either way…
GO ‘DAWGS!!!
