The ninth event of the PGA Tour is slated to take place at the Champion Course at the PGA National Resort and Spa. The Cognizant Classic is the first event on the East Coast on the 2025 PGA Tour calendar and promises to be a fiery one at that. Defending champion Austin Eckroat will be looking to reclaim his title, while another former champion, Sepp Straka, tries to win his second PGA Tour title this season. This $9.2 million tournament, however, has a lot of big names missing. Let’s take a deep look into who all are the key players who will not tee off at the tournament.

1. Justin Thomas

Back when the tournament was named the Honda Classic, Justin Thomas was one of the winners. The American golfer won the 2018 edition over Luke List. After tying the score, it required a playoff for Thomas to emerge victorious. Thomas’s exclusion is a bit surprising, mainly because the University of Alabama grad is currently having a very good run of results on the PGA Tour. The two-time Major winner has made cuts at all the tournaments he has participated in this year and has 3 top-10 finishes. This could have been a good chance to get some quality golf in under very little pressure, that too before the Masters.

1. Ludvig Aberg

The Swede’s TGL team, the Bay Golf Club, is scheduled to play on March 3. The first-placed team will be playing against second-placed Los Angeles Golf Club. With four playoff spots hanging in the balance, it could be that the Swede is prioritizing TGL fixtures. If he were to make the cut at the Cognizant Classic, Aberg would have to play five rounds in five days. He recently did the same, when his team was in action at the SoFi Center just hours after he claimed victory at the Genesis Invitational. He probably does not want a repeat of the same busy schedule.

1. Rory McIlroy

Another former winner on the list, McIlroy, recently announced that he would be taking part in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with his teammate Shane Lowry to defend last year’s title. McIlroy had won the 2012 Honda Classic, beating Tiger Woods and Tom Gillis by two strokes.

Similar to Aberg, McIlroy has a TGL tie on March 3, with his team the Boston Common Golf taking on New York Golf Club in a crucial fixture. Participating in the tournament could have given him a chance to overtake Schauffele in the Official World Golf Rankings and move to No.2 right behind the next man on the list.

1. Scottie Scheffler

The World No.1 missing any event is major news. He is slowly returning to his premier form after missing over a month due to injury. What lacks in his game is consistency. Even at the recently concluded Genesis Invitational, Scheffler displayed strong golf throughout the 72 holes. But on day 3, he stumbled, recording a 4 over par and effectively pushing him out of contention. That shows two things. One, he is far from his best. Two, he is still not to be trifled with. Despite the day 3 disaster, Scheffler pushed on to finish a remarkable T4. Similar to Justin Thomas, he could have used the low-pressure setting to get his wings right in Florida.

1. Xander Schauffele

Well, no one knows for sure when Xander Schauffele is returning from injury.  The World No.2 has not featured in a PGA Tour event since the Sentry where he finished T30. He then played in the opening TGL match before being MIA. The two-time Major winner is dealing with a persistent soft tissue rib injury that had occurred late last year. Despite stating that he would play the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Schauffele withdrew. Now he has confirmed that he is targeting to play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a week after the Cognizant Classic.

“Taking the Genesis off gives me three weeks leading into Bay Hill,” Schauffele explained his approach post-injury to Golfweek. “I want to get as many reps under the belt before the Masters. It would be nice to get the competitive blood flowing a few times before going into a really big event and also have the (Players Championship) coming up.”

While golfing fans are eagerly awaiting Schauffele’s return, the Florida leg of the PGA Tour begins in full earnest at the Cognizant Classic. The tournament at the PGA National Resort and Spa is the first of four events in Florida, which includes the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 9. With different conditions compared to the West Coast, it will be a new challenge but not something the golfers haven’t faced. Who do you think will win the Cognizant Classic?