Cognizant Classic receives several significant commitments, including No. 9 Matthew Fitzpatrick
The field for the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches continues to strengthen.
Jupiter's Matthew Fitzpatrick, No. 9 in the world, and Justin Rose committed Friday, which doubles the number of top 50 golfers in the field from last year a week out from the deadline.
Also confirming they will play the event at PGA National starting Feb. 29: Jupiter's Daniel Berger, who played in his first PGA Tour event in January after missing 18 months because of back issues; Jupiter's Shane Lowry; and 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson.
Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, will play Cognizant for the third time, the first since 2017. The 29-year-old Englishman missed the cut in 2016 and finished 68th in 2017.
Fitzpatrick has been one of the more consistent players since joining the tour in 2020. He has two tour wins, his latest the 2023 RBC Heritage, and 42 times has finished in the top 25. He has earned nearly $23 million on the PGA Tour.
Born in Sheffield, Fitzpatrick also had nine titles on the DP World Tour and has been a part of three European Ryder Cup teams.
The addition of Fitzpatrick gives Cognizant at least two top 10 players for the first time since 2019 when No. 3 Justin Thomas, No. 4 Brooks Koepka and No. 9 Rickie Fowler played in what was then known as the Honda Classic.
Since then, the only top 10 player in the field was Koepka (No. 3) in 2020. The highest-ranked player in the 2023 field was No. 18 Sungjae Im.
More: Rory McIlroy commits to Cognizant Classic, event's highest ranked golfer in nearly a decade
Rose, ranked No. 42 in the world, is playing Cognizant for the 11th time, his first since 2020. Lowry was the runner-up two years ago and finished tied for fifth last year. Berger has played in seven Cognizant Classics with three top-five finishes.
Fitzpatrick, Rory McIlroy, Lowry and Rose all played for the winning 2023 European Ryder Cup team. Johnson coached the U.S. team.
Among others either committed or expected to play this year: Fowler, Billy Horschel, Cam Young, Matt Kuchar, Lucas Glover, Sepp Straka, PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Eric Cole and Cognizant's defending champion Chris Kirk.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Justin Rose, other golf pros play in Cognizant Classic, formerly Honda
