Shane Lowry and Billy Horschel were paired together for the opening round of the Cognizant Classic on Thursday.
Lowry carded a one-under-par 70 to start his week, while Horschel finished one shot better with a 69.
Speaking ahead of the event, Lowry made it clear he wasn’t particularly fond of the course layout at PGA National.
He also mentioned that the tournament’s spot in the calendar doesn’t help attract stronger fields, noting how players often choose to skip this week in favour of rest or preparation for bigger events.
This week at PGA National, several players have voiced concerns about changes to the rough, specifically noting that it doesn’t have its usual bermuda feel. The feedback has been mixed, with some preferring the traditional setup while others are more open to the adjustments.
And Horschel doesn’t seem entirely happy with how ryegrass has taken over where bermuda usually is at PGA National. He pointed out that this change alters how shots behave around the greens compared to previous years.
What Lowry shared with Horschel before the event
Speaking after his first round, Horschel revealed what Lowry had told him about the course in the lead-up to the event.
“I was talking to Shane, and he talked about you could get to 8-under par and win this thing,” said Horschel.
“I think he said a couple years ago when he had a chance to win, I think it was ’22 when Sepp made three or four birdies coming in, and Shane got unlucky on 18 with the weather rolling in.
“He said he had a two-shot lead with four to play, and he parred the last four holes or five holes and lost the tournament by a shot. That’s unusual. Or you usually would win that. Obviously Sepp went out there and did something special to win it. But I think 8-under par won it or 9-under par won it.
“Listen, I’ve always been a big fan of 8 to 12-under par, 15 at most winning. I think that really says the course played fair, in my opinion. I think it really shows the players at the top, they were the guys that really truly probably played the best that week because it rewarded probably really good driving, iron play, short game, all that.
“I think when you get — listen, we play Amex and we know that score is going to be 20-something-under par, and you’re going to have to hit a lot of close iron shots and putt well. Not every course is going to be an 8-12 under-par setup. But I think this course over the years has always been a challenge, and I think for me, I’ve always enjoyed it.
“Now there’s years I’ve played awful and hated how tough it was because I missed the cut,” continued Horschel.
“But there’s years where I’ve played really good and hit it really well.”
“Yeah like I said just moving forward as we look at improving our product one thing is making sure courses are set up as challenges.”
Billy Horschel on why Cognizant Classic winning score will depend on weather
Horschel expects the final score to hinge heavily on the weather conditions over the next few days.
“If we had perfect conditions, I think the way the course is right now and the way the greens are, we know they’re going to get a little firmer,” Horschel told reporters after his opening round. “We know they’re going to get a little faster. We know the course is going to dry out.”
He went on: “I think this year was closer to maybe a 12, 14-under par winning score, I think.
“Now, it depends on how hard the wind blows. It’s only saying 10 to 15. But if you get weather and you get rain and it starts softening up the golf course, that does change it because it does mean we can be a little bit more precise and are landing it close to the hole, knowing the ball is going to stop.”
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