Steve Palmer's Cognizant Classic predictions & free golf betting tips plus bet £10 and get a £30 free bet with Kwiff

Steve Palmer tipped 60-1 winner Darius van Driel at the Kenya Open last week and has three fancies to follow at Palm Beach Gardens in Florida.

When to bet on the Cognizant Classic

By noon on Thursday

It's also worth noting that Kwiff are offering a £30 free bet when new customers bet £10 on golf 

Where can I watch the Cognizant Classic

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 11.45am on Thursday

Steve Palmer's Cognizant Classic predictions

Eric Cole
3.5pts each-way 33-1 Betfair, Power

Sepp Straka
2.5pts each-way 45-1 bet365

Adam Svensson
1.5pts each-way 50-1 bet365

New customers can get a £30 free bet when they bet on the Cognizant Classic with Kwiff

Steve Palmer's Cognizant Classic preview

Cognizant Classic favourite, Rory McIlroy, has had unusual preparation for the Florida event – he was competing in a made-for-TV skins event alongside Max Homa, Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang on Monday night. The 12-hole charity exhibition under floodlights at The Park course – billed as Match 9 – was won by McIlroy in a closest-to-the-pin tiebreaker.

McIlroy has not played in what was traditionally called the Honda Classic since finishing 59th in the 2018 edition and can be overlooked at the cramped odds.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Eric Cole 33-1

PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Eric Cole can land a maiden title on Sunday in his beloved Sunshine State. He almost won this tournament 12 months ago, making a magnificent Honda Classic debut, losing a playoff to Chris Kirk.

Cole languished 330th in the world rankings going into this event last year, but has returned this week as world number 36 and a PGA Tour champion in waiting. Refreshed from skipping the Mexico Open, this week's assignment looks a golden opportunity.

In his last 13 PGA Tour starts, Cole has posted four top-fives and eight top-15s, becoming a relentless presence on leaderboards. And there was great encouragement to take from his last outing – in the Genesis Invitational.

Cole was making his Riviera debut, so at a huge disadvantage at such a long established venue, and he understandably opened with a 73 in the Signature event. Rounds of 69, 65 and 69 followed, though, for a share of tenth place.

Starting 2024 with two top-15s in Hawaii, then three top-25s on the West Coast, Cole has headed home to Florida with confidence. He lives in Palm Beach County, knows Palm Beach Gardens like the back of his hand and has been a prolific winner of Minor League Tour events in this region.

Next best bet

Sepp Straka 45-1

The 2022 Honda champion was Sepp Straka – his maiden PGA Tour title came with a birdie at the final hole to edge Shane Lowry – then a second victory came in the John Deere Classic last summer.

Straka, who won on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2018, provided a stout Honda defence when carding four solid rounds for fifth place last year. The Georgia-based Austrian has since gone on to become a Ryder Cup winner and a father, and self-belief has never been higher.

Straka, the world number 25, finished seventh in the US PGA Championship last year, then tied second in the Open Championship, proving he has become a threat for everything. A runner-up finish behind Scottie Scheffler in the Hero World Challenge in December further bolstered Straka's reputation.

A quiet start to 2024 should not put punters off. Straka missed the cut by a shot in the Genesis last time out, but 12th place in The Sentry and 26th at Pebble Beach were decent efforts, and he relishes this week's layout. 

Other selection

Adam Svensson 50-1

Palm Beach Gardens resident Adam Svensson knows every inch of the Champions Course, where he won the 2015 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School. The Canadian, who went to university in Florida before settling in the state, romped to a seven-shot victory at Q School before going on to win three times on the Korn Ferry circuit.

Svensson again showed his liking to the Champions Course when topping the tee-to-green statistics in the 2022 Honda Classic, finishing ninth. He made his PGA Tour breakthrough later that year in the RSM Classic and this season he has slowly but surely got his act together.

Tenth place in the Genesis Invitational last time out suggests Svensson has found his A-game at the perfect time for this ideal assignment.

Course guide for the Cognizant Classic

• Course The Champions, PGA National Resort, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
• Prize money $9m ($1.62m to the winner)
• Length 7,147 yards
• Par 71 – three par-fives; 11 par-fours; four par-threes
• Field 144 The cut Top 65 and ties qualify for round three
• Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Rory McIlroy (2), Matt Fitzpatrick (9), Tom Kim (16), Cameron Young (23), Sepp Straka (25)
• Course records - 72 holes 267 Camilo Villegas (2010) 18 holes 61 Brian Harman (2012), Matt Jones (2021)
• Course winners taking part Camilo Villegas, Rory McIlroy, Russell Henley, Padraig Harrington, Rickie Fowler, Keith Mitchell, Sungjae Im, Sepp Straka, Chris Kirk
• When to bet By noon on Thursday
• When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 11.45am on Thursday
• Time difference Florida is five hours behind the UK and Ireland
• Last week – Mexico Open 1 J Knapp (40-1), 2 S Valimaki (125-1), T3 S Jaeger (22-1), CT Pan (250-1), J Lower (150-1), T6 P Rodgers (33-1), R MacIntyre (90-1), T8 C Young (80-1), D Ghim (45-1), A Novak (125-1), E Van Rooyen (35-1), C Kim (150-1)
• Course type Parkland
• Course overview The Champions, a course created by George Fazio and redesigned by Jack Nicklaus, is one of the toughest layouts on the PGA Tour. The Honda Classic, renamed this year as the Cognizant Classic, has been at this venue since 2007, with 72-hole totals of just six under par or worse enough to top the leaderboard four times.
• Story of last year Chris Kirk defeated Eric Cole in a playoff to end a victory drought of almost eight years
• Weather forecast Warm and pleasant, with a thunderstorm threat for Sunday. Light to moderate breezes, peaking on Friday afternoon
• Type of player suited to the challenge The Champions, with heavy bunkering and plenty of water hazards, is a strong tee-to-green test where only accurate ball-striking will produce results
• Key attribute Accuracy

Steve Palmer's Cognizant Classic key stat

Only seven of the last 19 Honda Classics have been won by an American

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Kwiff golf Cognizant Classic betting sign-up offer: terms and conditions

It's worth taking a few minutes to read through the terms and conditions associated with the new golf betting sign-up offer before signing up. Doing so will help you get a better grasp of this Kwiff free bets offer and what's expected of you as a new customer.

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• Visit Kwiff for additional T&Cs
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