The withdrawals came first. Jacob Bridgeman, Adam Scott, Ben Griffin all pulled out before Round 1 at the Cognizant Classic 2026. But the bigger story was already set: five marquee names were never in the field to begin with.

1. Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler won The AmEx in his 2026 season debut, shooting 63-64-68-66 for a 27-under total and a four-shot victory. That was his 20th career PGA Tour title. He then went T3 at the WM Phoenix Open, closing with a 64, and T4 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he fired a final-round 63 with three eagles before falling two shots short of Collin Morikawa. At the Genesis Invitational, he scraped through the cut after going 5-over through his first 10 holes on Thursday, then rallied over the weekend to finish T12.

After four starts in five weeks, Scheffler is taking a scheduled rest before returning at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he has won twice (2022, 2024). According to reports, he is stepping away this week to reset ahead of Bay Hill. Well, the rest makes sense given Bay Hill and Augusta are two of the important PGA tours.

Not only World No.1 but World No.2 is doing the same.

2. Rory McIlroy

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

Rory McIlroy made his 2026 PGA Tour debut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, shooting 68-67-72-64 to finish T14. He then went to Riviera for the Genesis Invitational and finished T2, one shot behind the winner, Jacob Bridgeman, after closing with birdies on holes 16 and 17 that momentarily tightened the race. He told Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis on Wednesday ahead of the event that he would skip the Cognizant Classic entirely.

The world no. 2 is skipping Palm Beach Gardens to fly directly to Augusta National, where he plans to play practice rounds with his father, Gerry McIlroy, and Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley. As the defending Masters champion, having won in 2025 to end an 11-year major drought, the practice trip carries obvious significance.

He told the media at Riviera, “I feel like my game’s pretty much all there. Looking forward to Bay Hill and THE PLAYERS.”

His next start will be the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 5.

3. Patrick Cantlay

Patrick Cantlay has had a mixed but active start to 2026. He finished T13 at The AmEx, missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, T14 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and T37 at the Genesis Invitational. No official statement has come from him yet. But his schedule is consistent with the pattern among signature-event-eligible players who are selectively managing their starts around the Florida stretch.

His Genesis performance drew pointed criticism, with analysts noting he missed four putts inside 5.5 feet in the final round, with his win drought now stretching past 1,300 days as per ProfootballNetwork Fantasy Golf analysis. With the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship both coming in the next two weeks, it is a straightforward call to skip the Cognizant Classic 2026.

While Cantlay’s absence is about scheduling, for the next two names, it runs deeper than that.

4. Jordan Spieth

Jordan Spieth finished 61st in the 2025 FedExCup standings, which placed him outside the automatic qualifying threshold for Signature Events heading into 2026. He opened 2026 with a T24 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, then missed the cut at the WM Phoenix Open after shooting 75 in the R2. The Cognizant Classic 2026 is a full-field event he is not targeting; he has accepted a sponsor exemption into the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill instead.

The comeback narrative, though, is real. At the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Spieth opened with a bogey-free 66 at Spyglass Hill. He finished T29, but ranked third in the Signature Event field in strokes gained: putting and fourth in putting percentage from 5-10 feet across 72 holes. His wrist, which required surgery in August 2024, is now fully healed, and he has said the pain-free feeling is new. He also played at the Genesis Invitational, finishing T12 alongside Scheffler.

Fowler walked a similar road and is already a step ahead.

5. Rickie Fowler

Rickie Fowler’s absence from the Cognizant is about scheduling, not eligibility. He played through a chronic left shoulder injury throughout 2025.

In 2026, Fowler is looking sharper. He has produced steady early-season results, including a top-20 finish at Pebble Beach. At the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he carded a second-round 64 at Spyglass Hill to reach 14-under and sit tied for third entering the weekend before fading to T19. He followed that with a T28 finish at the Genesis Invitational, marking another made cut in a consistent run of starts. Fowler is also a past Cognizant Classic champion, having won the event in 2017. But with Bay Hill and The Players approaching, his schedule prioritizes the signature stretch of the Florida Swing.

The Bear Trap will still bite someone this week. It just will not be any of these five.

Who will you miss the most?