Joe Highsmith rallies to win the Cognizant Classic after making cut on number
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Joe Highsmith celebrates with his mother Ann Highsmith after winning the Cognizant Classic at PGA National Resort’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on March 2.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MIAMI – Joe Highsmith did not have winning on his mind earlier in the Cognizant Classic. He was just trying to stay around to play the weekend.
Then, what a weekend it was.
He shot a seven-under 64 for the second day in a row to come from behind to win by two strokes for his first PGA Tour victory on March 2 at PGA National Resort’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
“It feels really nice to just play a round of golf like that and get all the things that come from winning a tournament,” Highsmith said.
The 24-year-old American made the cut on the number on Feb 28 but, by the afternoon of March 2, he had created space atop the leaderboard. He rolled in a putt from nearly 21 feet on the par-three 17th hole for a two-stroke advantage, and no one could catch him.
“The putter, for sure, saved me. Every part of my game was really good today, but I made a lot of long putts. Those are just stuff that doesn’t really happen too often,” Highsmith said.
He became the first PGA Tour player since Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open to make a cut on the number and go on to win.
“I feel like once I made it on the number, I knew I was going to go out early on Saturday and that was going to be a good chance because the scores just get so much harder as the day goes on. I definitely took advantage of that,” he said.
Highsmith’s bogey-free final round made him a winner in his 34th outing on the tour. He had three previous top-10 finishes.
The victory means Highsmith gains automatic entry to the Masters in April and the PGA Championship in May.
It also secures his PGA Tour card through to 2027 and entry to the remainder of this season’s PGA Tour Signature Events, starting with the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which begins on March 6.
The left-hander’s 19-under 265 was two strokes better than runners-up Jacob Bridgeman (64) and J.J. Spaun (66). Max McGreevy (67) and Ben Griffin (69) tied for fourth place at 16 under.
Jake Knapp, who had led nearly non-stop since his opening-round 59, could not keep up the pace. He shot 72 and finished tied for sixth at 15 under with Russell Henley (70) and Michael Kim (71).
Knapp was undone when he tried to hit out of a water hazard on the 11th hole, resulting in a triple-bogey seven. That sent him from sharing the lead to fifth.
He was bidding to become the first PGA Tour golfer to shoot a sub-60 round and go on to win since Snedeker in the 2018 Wyndham Championship.
“The 59 the first day, those don’t happen very often. So, obviously, that’ll hold a special place in my heart,” Knapp said.
“The whole goal at the beginning of the week is always just to put yourself in position going into the weekend, and I was happy I was able to do that.
Meanwhile, England’s Laurie Canter became the first player with LIV Golf ties past or present to qualify for The Players Championship.
Canter, who last played on the LIV Golf circuit in 2024, finished second on March 2 at the South African Open on the DP World Tour to rocket into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
With his new No. 42 ranking by the March 3 cut-off date and because he has not competed in a LIV event for more than a year, Canter will secure an invitation from the PGA Tour to its flagship event for the first time. REUTERS
