The first round of the Florida Swing produced a little bit of everything. Numerous players attempted shots from water hazards, a worrying withdrawal came from one of the game’s more popular figures, and even a bird was clipped by the pre-tournament favorite. Unaffected by all of it was none other than Austin Smotherman, who opened his 2026 Cognizant Classic with a sensational 9-under 62 to command the first-round lead by a single stroke over Nico Echavarria.
“Two weeks off, I come out here today excited to play,” Smotherman said. “I’m glad I was an early tee time today, too, not having to wait around and maybe see other guys doing what they’re doing. But I just wanted to get on the golf course. Felt like the game was in a good spot.
“To be honest, I didn’t play a ton when I was home — just took the rest when I could, knowing I’m about to play as many weeks as I can until my wife is due with our third child here March 23rd. Figuring things out on the road solo this week, and the game kind of followed. It was a pretty easy round on a golf course that shouldn’t be this easy. It felt pretty good.”
Smotherman started his tournament with a couple of birdies in his first five holes before he caught fire around the turn. He made six birdies in a row from Nos. 7-12 to catapult himself into a share of the lead. A birdie on the par-5 finisher made it so his name was the one to finish Thursday alone at the top.
While Smotherman and some of his peers enjoyed calm conditions in the morning, five-time major champion Brooks Koepka and those off in the afternoon faced a different challenge. With wind picking up as the day progressed, players were tasked with navigating a more difficult PGA National, albeit still a relatively tame one historically.
Experiencing two frustrating tournaments on the West Coast courtesy of some serious putting woes, Koepka came into the Cognizant Classic with some renewed enthusiasm on the greens. However, continuing to wield the TaylorMade Spider putter, he continued to see the same results.
The Florida native turned in a round of 3 over, hindered by both his play on the greens and the manner in which he finished. Koepka’s most noteworthy connection came from 36 feet on the par-4 6th for the first of two birdies. Unfortunately, his second-longest putt from 5 feet, 5 inches came on the par-3 17th for a double-bogey five, which was sandwiched in between two other fives on the scorecard.
“He shot 3 over, so I don’t think he played his best,” Daniel Berger said of Koepka. “Obviously had a difficult time on 17, but if there’s one thing I know, it’s he can turn it around in an instant. I expect him to come out tomorrow and play well.”
Leader
1. Austin Smotherman (-9): If you’re going to shoot 62 at PGA National, you are going to make your fair share of putts, and that is exactly what Smotherman did. The 31-year-old made 132 feet of putts, gained over three strokes with the flat stick in hand and did so while 17 greens in regulation. The latter will be the most important on Friday as he goes off in the afternoon when conditions are expected to freshen.
“I felt like I just wanted to hit good putts on the high line all day and just very freeing,” Smotherman said. “I’m using no line on the golf ball this week for the first time in a while, but I felt like it kind of just helps with these greens. There’s so much movement and the pace that they are, and then with the wind, not to be adjusting and so conscientious of that line, so I felt like that was pretty freeing.
“The length of putts that I was making was nice to see, but I also felt like I hit a lot of good putts. The par save on 15 to kind of keep things going, a par save as well on 6 after a bad lag putt, that kind of kept things going. So having those things happen and then a long putt goes in, you’re stealing them, and then you hit one close, and you just keep building those holes. Before you know it, you’re finished, and here we are.”
Contenders
2. Nico Echavarria (-8)
T3. Taylor Moore, Jackson Suber, Daniel Berger, Kevin Roy, Kristoffer Reitan (-4)
T8. Keith Mitchell, Joel Dahmen, Michael Brennan, Aaron Rai and nine others (-3)
It was not Smotherman who led the field in strokes gained putting on Thursday but rather Echavarria. The two-time PGA Tour winner has missed four cuts in five starts to begin his 2026 season with his lone weekend appearance coming as a top 10 finish at Pebble Beach. Despite the volatility, Echavarria insisted that his game was close, and Thursday was proof of that as he too went around PGA National without a dropped shot.
“It wasn’t the best start of the year, but I did play very, very well in Pebble, and those signature events give you a lot of points, so I’m happy with that,” Echavarria said. “The golf hasn’t been that far off, and I could tell today that having patience and just enjoying it out there was going to be the key for the day, and we did that.”
How players are reacting to PGA National
From 2006-23, 11 golfers shot 10 under or better at PGA National. In 2025, 38 players accomplished the feat with Jake Knapp even shooting 59. Now, there were some changes between those two periods, including the golf course being overseeded and the par-4 10th getting changed to a par 5, which adjusts a player’s score to par.
Still, though, if last year (and Thursday) was any indication of the difficulty of this golf course, it may be fair to say that this is officially not your father’s PGA National. So, why is that? Just ask Billy Horschel, a Florida native who has been vocal about what has transpired at the venue.
“I talked about it last year. This is a really good golf course. It’s a very fair golf course. When it blows hard, it’s a challenge, and when it’s sort of benign like it is today, it’s gettable,” Horschel explained. “A few years ago, the rough was longer and then they started cutting it down and then they overseeded the golf course. Listen, I think the Tour gets a bad rap, and it’s not anything against the owners of PGA National. I understand where they would want to overseed. …This isn’t just PGA National; it goes to a lot of courses that we play throughout the years.”
Worrying withdrawal from Will Zalatoris
Well, at least it is not his back, but a withdrawal shortly before his Round 1 tee time has some worrying about Zalatoris. According to the PGA Tour, Zalatoris’ exit was due to a left ankle injury as the wiry right-hander was on the practice facilities at PGA National, gearing up for first-round action before pulling his name off the tee sheet.
Zalatoris opened his season with a top-20 finish at The American Express before he missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open. Once a consistent contender in major championships, Zalatoris has dropped to No. 252 in the Official World Golf Rankings and is not qualified for any of the four major championships for the 2026 season.
2026 Cognizant Classic updated odds, picks
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
- Nico Echavarria: 9/2
- Austin Smotherman: 5-1
- Daniel Berger: 12-1
- Kristoffer Reitan: 12-1
- Keith Mitchell: 20-1
- Rasmus Højgaard: 24-1
- Kevin Roy: 24-1
The morning should play easier on Friday once again, which will create an opportunity for someone like Michael Brennan to inch towards the lead. The PGA Tour rookie is listed at 35-1 after an opening 68 during which he hit 12 of 14 fairways to complement his jaw-dropping length off the tee. The short game was a little sloppy, but if he cleans that up, he will have a chance heading into the weekend.