Shane Lowry and Billy Horschel played alongside one another on day one of the Cognizant Classic on Thursday.

Lowry posted a round of one-under-par 70 on his opening round of the Cognizant Classic, while Horschel ended his day one stroke better than the Irishman, after shooting a 69.

Before the tournament began, Lowry admitted that he wasn’t a huge fan of the Cognizant Classic golf course.

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Lowry also pointed out how the Cognizant Classic field suffers because of where it is situated in the schedule.

Numerous players have been complaining about the lack of bermuda rough this week at PGA National.

And Horschel doesn’t seem to be entirely happy with the fact that the bermuda grass at PGA National has been overseeded with ryegrass.

What Shane Lowry told Billy Horschel ahead of the Cognizant

Horschel spoke to reporters after his opening round on Thursday and shared what Lowry told him about the golf course before the tournament began this week.

“I was talking to Shane, and he talked about you could get to 8-under par and win this thing,“ the American said.

“I think he said a couple years ago when he had a chance to win, I think it was ’22 when Sepp made three or four birdies coming in, and Shane got unlucky on 18 with the weather rolling in.

“He said he had a two-shot lead with four to play, and he parred the last four holes or five holes and lost the tournament by a shot. That’s unusual. Or you usually would win that. Obviously Sepp went out there and did something special to win it. But I think 8-under par won it or 9-under par won it.

“Listen, I’ve always been a big fan of 8 to 12-under par, 15 at most winning. I think that really says the course played fair, in my opinion. I think it really shows the players at the top, they were the guys that really truly probably played the best that week because it rewarded probably really good driving, iron play, short game, all that.

“I think when you get — listen, we play Amex and we know that score is going to be 20-something-under par, and you’re going to have to hit a lot of close iron shots and putt well. Not every course is going to be an 8, 12-under par setup. But I think this course over the years has always been a challenge, and I think for me, I’ve always enjoyed it.

“Now, there’s years I’ve played awful and I’ve hated that it played really tough and I missed the cut. But there’s years where I’ve played really good and I’ve hit it really well, and I have played the track very solid when it was tough conditions.

“Yeah, like I said, it’s just something going forward that I think as a tour, as we start looking at improving our product, one thing that I’d mention is just making sure the course that we choose and the way we set it up is a challenge because I think the fans, they want to see quality golf shots rewarded.

“They want to see bad golf shots get punished. They want to see birdies.

“I think a lot of data would say 12, 15-under par, I think fans really love seeing a score in that range or area.“

Billy Horschel predicts winning score at the Cognizant Classic

Horschel thinks the winning score will very much depend on the weather during the remaining three days of the tournament.

“Yeah, listen, if we had perfect conditions, I think the way the course is right now and the way the greens are, we know they’re going to get a little firmer,“ Horschel said.

“We know they’re going to get a little faster. We know the course is going to dry out. I think the course this year — like I said, I think this year was closer to maybe a 12, 14-under par winning score, I think.

“Now, it depends on how hard the wind blows. It’s only saying 10 to 15. But if you get weather and you get rain and it starts softening up the golf course, that does change it because it does mean we can be a little bit more precise and are landing it close to the hole, knowing the ball is going to stop.

“It’s just one of those things that weather is always the predictor in how tough or how easy a course is going to play no matter how you set it up.

“I remember playing Medinah in 2019 and it was 7,700 yards and it rained Tuesday night and Wednesday or something, and Justin Thomas went out and shot 62 and everyone was shocked by it. But it was no wind and soft as can be. If weather plays a factor, it does change how a course plays.“