“That’s a hard pill to swallow if you shot -4” – Ex-PGA Tour champ sounds off on PGA National’s ‘insane’ cut

The PGA National course in Florida is hosting the ongoing Cognizant Classic. Following Friday's round, a cut was imposed at 5 under par that saw nearly half the field head home early. Smylie Kaufman took to his X (formerly known as Twitter) account to express his astonishment with the scores.

The former PGA Tour winner stated that the difficulty of making the cut at the 2025 Cognizant Classic was "insane." The PGA National course is regarded as one of the most challenging golf courses in the world. Smylie Kaufman acknowledged that the conditions at the PGA National were relatively easier now, as compared to the past. However, he also sympathized with the players that missed the cut at PGA National this week.

Smylie Kaufman said (via X @SmylieKaufman10):

"A cut at PGA National at -5 is just insane. Two rounds of -2 is quality play and somehow not good enough for a weekend tee time. I know the conditions were much easier but still that’s a hard pill to swallow if you shot -4."

Smylie Kaufman later took to the comments section of his post to put the cut line into perspective. He stated that the lowest cut line on the PGA Tour this year has been 3 under par at the Sony Open in Hawaii and at last week's Mexico Open at VidantaWorld.

Here's a look at his comment about PGA National's scoring (via X @SmylieKaufman10):

The prestigious PGA National has been known to set up the PGA Tour's players with gruelling challenges, especially on the famous stretch of holes from the 15th to 17th holes known as the Bear Trap. However, several players from this week's field have also expressed their views on how favorable conditions have led to a lowered scoring average.

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Billy Horschel comments on PGA National's conditions

Following the conclusion of the opening round of the 2025 Cognizant Classic on Thursday, Billy Horschel commented on the course's "disappointing" conditions. That day, Jake Knapp went on to card in a historical 12 under par 59 round to set the new record at PGA National.

Here's a look at what Billy Horschel had to say about PGA National when asked about Knapp's score (via X @NUCLRGolf):

"This will be the lowest scoring average in the history of this tournament. It's just a little disappointing because it's such a great test of golf and the conditions, no wind, we've had rain this week, makes it softer. But if you add the Bermuda factor and Bermuda rough and Bermuda fairways and if you missed the green you had to chip it off of Bermuda instead of overseeded rye, it just makes it a little bit tougher."

Billy Horschel stressed that the PGA National's use of overseeded rye grass instead of Bermuda grass made the course play easier. Good weather in Florida this week also contributed to the low scoring average.