- 21:00 ET, MAR 1 2025
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Veteran golfer Charley Hoffman had a mostly sound third day of the Honda Cognizant Classic at the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens.
“Hoffman has a clean card today,” the ESPN+ commentator said as he lined up for the par-three 17th before the 48-year-old’s shot badly veered to the right. “Oh no, oh no… that’s a straight shank,” the announcer corrected himself after delivering the commentator’s curse.
Hoffman finished the par-three with a double bogey that dropped him to a tie for 43rd in the pack; he would finish even on the day and sits at -8 overall. Hoffman is a four-time winner on the PGA Tour and once ranked as high as 20th in the world. He boasts two career two-10 finishes at majors.
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The Cognizant Classic boasts auspiciously low scores than in years past. 30-year-old Jake Knapp nearly broke a tour record with his 59 in the first round. He still holds the lead overall at -15 ahead of the chasing pack of Michael Kim, Doug Ghim, Russell Henley, Ben Griffin, and Rickie Fowler.
Both Billy Horschel and Jordan Spieth noticed the change in the course. In 2023, groundskeepers at PGA National began trickling Ryegrass into the Bermudagrass along with a series of other changes.
“You’ve got to tip your hat to him [Knapp]. He shot a 12-under par 59 at PGA National, which no one ever thought,” Horschel said. “I know we had a discussion earlier this week and I’ve probably changed my tune a little bit. I think the overseed has — the rough is not long enough. It’s not penal enough when you miss the fairway.
“I really wish we would just play this as a straight Bermuda. From tee to green, everything is straight Bermuda. I know it doesn’t look prettier on TV and I know that’s one of the reasons why it’s overseeded.
“It is a little disappointing that, I’d say the condition of the course is very scorable. But at the same time, you’ve still got to go out there, you’ve still got to hit golf shots, you’ve still got to make putts.”
Spieth, sitting tied for 13th, echoed the sentiment. “I thought from a course setup they weren’t many of the hardest pins on the golf course,” he said. “A lot of them were in gettable locations, and then we didn’t have any wind, so it was a beautiful morning.”
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