Joe Highsmith started the day four shots behind the lead and recorded the low-round of the day, a bogey-free, 7-under 64, to reach 19-under and win the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches by two shots.
“Feeling great. At the moment, it’s all a little bit of a whirlwind. I don’t totally know what to expect. That was the last thing I was expecting at the start of the day was a win,” said Highsmith.
“I mean, it’s incredible. It feels really nice to just play a round of golf like that and get all the things that come from winning a tournament. Yeah, feeling great.”
This first PGA Tour came in in his 34th start at the age of 24 years, 10 months, 11 days. His previous best finish was 5th at the 2024 World Wide Technology Championship.
Highsmith is the first player on Tour to win after making the cut on the number (5-under) since Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open. He is the sixth player to accomplish this since 2003.
“I played really nice the first day and was kind of trending off a pretty good week in Mexico, so I was feeling good. Then I kind of had a roller coaster day on Friday with two doubles and two bogeys, and found myself with a five-footer on 18 just to play the weekend. I was like, man, am I really going to miss the cut? I feel like I played really good the day before and even on Friday did a lot of really good things.
“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. I played really nicely on Saturday. Then the course got really tough, so I ended up moving way closer to the lead than I should have. I knew that I was going to be on the opposite side of that today. I played really, really good today, so it was nice to kind of conquer that course when it was a little easy but also when it was baked and crusty and windy and everything. It was really hard out there this afternoon.
“I never really try to think about winning. All that stuff is just kind of a little abstract. You’re just trying to hit one good shot at a time. I had seen a couple boards out there and you get that feeling when you’re playing well that maybe you do have a chance to win. As long as you don’t mess it up, then you’ll end up on top. I’ve had a few tournaments like that over the years, but I haven’t won too many times. This one felt pretty good to do it out here at this great event.”
With this win he earned a spot in the five remaining Signature Events of 2025, the 2025 Masters Tournament, 2025 PGA Championship and 2026 Sentry.
Jacob Bridgeman made a single bogey and matched Highsmith’s 64 to finish in a tie for second place at 17-under alongside J.J. Spaun who earned his second top-three of the season in seven starts.
Max McGreevy and Ben Griffin tied for fourth place at 16-under after rounds of 67 and 69 respectively to complete the all-American top-5.
American Jake Knapp who had held the lead since Thursday’s 59 made two birdies and a double bogey at the par-4 11th to close with a 72 and a share of sixth place at 15-under.
Two days after reaching 20 points to earn PGA Tour membership via PGA Tour University Accelerated, American amateur Luke Clanton closed with 69 to finish T18 at 9-under, earning his sixth top-25 finish in 12 PGA Tour starts.
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The top 10 FedExCup points earners through the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches will earn spots in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard via the Aon Next 10.
The top 5 FedExCup points earners in the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld and Cognizant Classic will earn spots in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard via the Aon Swing 5.
The Aon Next 10 and Aon Swing 5 are eligibility pathways for players, not already qualified, to play their way into Signature Events via the FedExCup standings.
