The second round of the 2026 Cognizant Classic gets underway on Friday at PGA National (Champion Course) in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Austin Smotherman leads the Cognizant Classic after the first round at nine-under par. He holds a one-stroke lead over the rest of the field, but the tournament remains wide open with three days remaining.
Here are my picks for the Cognizant Classic Round 2 best bets for Friday.
Cognizant Classic Round 2 Odds, Best Bets
Beau Hossler Top 20 (+140 at DraftKings)
Beau Hossler opened with an impressive 3-under-par round Thursday and enters Friday T9. Already well inside the top-20 threshold, he is worth backing to maintain that position at +140.
Strong putting is essential at PGA National. Last year, each of the top five finishers ranked 21st or better in the field in strokes gained: putting.
No other strokes-gained category showed a similar trend.
Unsurprisingly, Hossler’s putter was his strongest club Thursday. He ranked 15th in the field in strokes gained: putting and profiles well to keep that momentum going.
Entering this week, Hossler ranks in the 85th percentile on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: putting.
Stephan Jaeger Top 20 (+300 at DraftKings)
Another golfer worth targeting in this market is Stephan Jaeger. Unlike Hossler, Jaeger struggled Thursday and enters Friday T52 at even par.
His putter was the primary issue in the opening round, contributing to his position on the leaderboard. However, this presents a buy-low opportunity, as Jaeger is unlikely to continue struggling on the greens over a four-round sample size.
Jaeger has gained true strokes putting in seven of his past eight tournaments in which ShotLink data was available and currently ranks in the 86th percentile on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: putting.
He also sits nearly 2% above the PGA Tour average this season in birdie-or-better percentage on approach shots from 150-175 yards.
That range is particularly relevant at PGA National, where nearly 22% of approach shots come from that distance, the highest distribution of any 25-yard grouping.
