PGA Tour: Who are the First Coast and South Georgia players in the Cognizant Classic?

It’s time for the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing.

Can a Florida Spring be far behind?

After two winter months of unseasonable cold, wind and even snow in Florida during January and February, the coming of the Tour to the Cognizant Classic, which begins on Thursday at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, seems to have brought some warm weather along for the ride.

The weather forecast in the Palm Beaches for tournament week is for clear skies and temperatures hovering around 80 degrees. The extended forecast for next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando, according to weatherchannel.com, is more of the same.

And The Players Championship? Well, a long-range forecast has a bit of everything: sun, clouds, some blustery weather – pretty much what everyone expects of the First Coast in March.

But it beats frost and snow flurries, and that weather seems to be in the rear-view mirror.

The opening tournament of the Florida Swing won’t have the star power of the Palmer Invitational, the PGA Tour’s next Signature Event, or The Players, annually the deepest field in golf.

But it will have major champions Jordan Spieth, Brian Harman, Shane Lowry, Zach Johnson, Francesco Molinari, Webb Simpson and Gary Woodland, past FedEx Cup champions Billy Horschel and Brandt Snedeker, last week’s winner at the Mexico Open, Brian Campbell, and Palm Beaches local favorites Rickie Fowler, Daniel Berger and Matt Kuchar.

PGA Tour

Who are the area players in the Cognizant Classic field?

First Coast: Ricky Castillo, Bud Cauley, Ben Griffin, Billy Horschel, Ben Kohles, Tyler McCumber, Sam Ryder.

Golden Isles: Will Gordon, Brian Harman, Zach Johnson, Patton Kizzire, Keith Mitchell, Andrew Novak, Greyson Sigg, Davis Thompson.

Purse: $9.2 million ($1,656,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner).

Defending champion: Austin Eckroat.

TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m.); NBC (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.).

What other Tours are playing this week?

LPGA

Event: HSBC Women’s World Championship, Wednesday/Thursday-Saturday/Sunday, Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore.

Purse: $2.4 million ($270,000 to the winner).

Defending champion: Hannah Green.

Area players: None.

TV: Golf Channel (Wednesday/Thursday-Saturday/Sunday, 9:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m.

Korn Ferry Tour

Event: Argentina Open, Thursday-Sunday, Jockey Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Purse: $1 million ($180,000 to the winner).

Defending champion: Mason Anderson.

Area players: Tyson Alexander, Samuel Anderson, Chris Baker, Chandler Blanchet, Cody Blick, Sebastian Cappelen, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Tano Goya, Luke Guthrie, Russell Knox, Rick Lamb, Raul Pereda, Marcus Plunkett, Doc Redman, Julian Suri, Thomas Walsh.

TV: None.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: PGA Tour: Billy Horschel leads First Coast players in Cognizant field