Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches R2

Simon Bale|February 28, 2026

Keywords: Austin Smotherman, Cognizant Classic, PGA National Resort, PGA Tour

Austin Smotherman fired five birdies and two bogeys to close with a 2-under 69 and retain the lead at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, his first 36-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA Tour in his 82nd career start.

“Pretty ecstatic, pretty excited to be in this position. Yeah, I was just trying to be steady. Anything under par I thought would have been following up round like yesterday, which was a special one, and try not to get too far ahead of myself thinking I’m going to make every long putt I’m looking at like kind of was the feeling yesterday, and then today I still make a 55-footer on 17,” said Smotherman.

“Kind of nice to see those go in and feel like you’re stealing them on a course where you’re just hoping to get down in two from that range, and you have that distance a lot if you get stuff on the wind going away, all these slopes, greens are fast.

“Yeah, leading a PGA TOUR event, come on, pretty awesome.”

The American leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (4.888) and has recorded 246’ 7” of made putts through 36 holes. He leads all players with 14 total birdies this week. 131 ties his second-lowest 36-hole score on Tour (best: 129, 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship).

This year marks his fourth season as a PGA Tour member and first since 2024 (finished 169th in FedExCup Fall standings). In 81 career starts he has had four top-10 finishes (best: T5, 2023 VidantaWorld Mexico Open).

In four starts this season, Smotherman has recorded three missed cuts and one top-10 (T8/The American Express).

Fellow American Taylor Moore made two bogeys and signed for a second 67 to move into second place at 8-under. He leads the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green (4.932) and ranks second in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (6.778).

In 120 career PGA Tour starts Moore has had 12 top-10 finishes and one win (2023 Valspar Championship). In his third start of the season, he seeks his first top-25 finish (T49/Farmers Insurance Open, T56/The American Express).

Canadian rookie A.J. Ewart lies in T3 at 7-under having made a double bogey at the par-2 17th as well as nine birdies to card the low round of the day with a 7-under 64, marking a new career low in his 20th round on Tour. The 26-year-old secured a PGA Tour membership for the first time by earning medalist honors at Final Stage of 2025 PGA Tour Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

Entering the day one shot off the lead, Colombian Nico Echavarria recorded two birdies and three bogeys for a second-round 72 and is tied in third place.

Following a first-round 74, nine-time PGA Tour winner Brooks Koepka of the USA posted a 5-under 66, his lowest score in eight rounds this season, and currently lies in T27 at 1-under.

Defending champion Joe Highsmith of the United States made the cut on the number for the second consecutive year at the Cognizant Classic. Last year, he became the first player since 2016 to win on Tour after making the cut on the number (Brandt
Snedeker/2016 Farmers Insurance Open) and the sixth player to accomplish the feat since 2003.

Related: Torque GC Becomes Title Sponsor of AJGA Championship in Multi-Year Deal

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Pos.	Player	To Par	R1	R2	Total
1	Austin Smotherman	-11	62	69	131
2	Taylor Moore	-8	67	67	134
T3	A.J. Ewart	-7	71	64	135
T3	Nico Echavarria	-7	63	72	135
5	Joel Dahmen	-6	68	68	136
T6	Mark Hubbard	-5	69	68	137
T6	Kristoffer Reitan	-5	67	70	137
T6	Pontus Nyholm	-5	67	70	137
T6	Hank Lebioda	-5	68	69	137
T6	Aaron Rai	-5	68	69	137
T6	Shane Lowry	-5	70	67	137
T6	Jimmy Stanger	-5	69	68	137
T13	William Mouw	-4	68	70	138
T13	Michael Brennan	-4	68	70	138
T13	Daniel Berger	-4	67	71	138
T13	Seamus Power	-4	71	67	138
T13	Chad Ramey	-4	68	70	138
T18	Carson Young	-3	70	69	139
T18	Matti Schmid	-3	69	70	139
T18	Takumi Kanaya	-3	73	66	139
T18	Kevin Roy	-3	67	72	139
T18	Max Homa	-3	73	66	139
T18	Thorbjørn Olesen	-3	70	69	139
T18	Kevin Streelman	-3	69	70	139
T18	Steven Fisk	-3	69	70	139
T18	Ricky Castillo	-3	69	70	139
T27	Eric Cole	-2	71	69	140
T27	Ryan Gerard	-2	73	67	140
T27	Brooks Koepka	-2	74	66	140
T27	Ben Silverman	-2	73	67	140
T27	Mackenzie Hughes	-2	75	65	140
T27	Chan Kim	-2	69	71	140
T27	Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen	-2	70	70	140
T27	Zecheng Dou	-2	72	68	140
T27	Matthieu Pavon	-2	71	69	140
T27	Max McGreevy	-2	68	72	140
T27	Sudarshan Yellamaraju	-2	68	72	140
T38	Alex Smalley	-1	72	69	141
T38	Danny Walker	-1	72	69	141
T38	Rasmus Højgaard	-1	69	72	141
T38	Christiaan Bezuidenhout	-1	71	70	141
T38	Dan Brown	-1	69	72	141
T38	John Parry	-1	71	70	141
T38	Austin Eckroat	-1	71	70	141
T38	Beau Hossler	-1	68	73	141
T38	Lee Hodges	-1	69	72	141
T38	Matt Wallace	-1	73	68	141
T38	Keith Mitchell	-1	68	73	141
T38	Davis Thompson	-1	70	71	141
T38	Jackson Suber	-1	67	74	141
T38	Adrien Saddier	-1	69	72	141
T38	Patrick Fishburn	-1	73	68	141
T38	Zach Bauchou	-1	70	71	141
T54	Dylan Wu	Par	73	69	142
T54	Emiliano Grillo	Par	71	71	142
T54	Adam Schenk	Par	69	73	142
T54	Chandler Phillips	Par	74	68	142
T54	Tom Kim	Par	75	67	142
T54	Patton Kizzire	Par	70	72	142
T54	Haotong Li	Par	71	71	142
T54	David Ford	Par	72	70	142
T54	Billy Horschel	Par	69	73	142
T54	Garrick Higgo	Par	71	71	142
T54	Joe Highsmith	Par	70	72	142
T54	Nicolai Højgaard	Par	70	72	142
T54	Adrien Dumont de Chassart	Par	71	71	142
T54	Jordan Smith	Par	71	71	142
CUT	Lanto Griffin	+1	72	71	143
CUT	David Lipsky	+1	70	73	143
CUT	Michael Thorbjornsen	+1	72	71	143
CUT	Kris Ventura	+1	71	72	143
CUT	Luke Clanton	+1	73	70	143
CUT	Gordon Sargent	+1	70	73	143
CUT	Sam Ryder	+1	74	69	143
CUT	Doug Ghim	+1	72	71	143
CUT	Mac Meissner	+1	73	70	143
CUT	Davis Riley	+1	74	69	143
CUT	Kevin Yu	+1	68	75	143
CUT	Webb Simpson	+1	73	70	143
CUT	Chandler Blanchet	+1	69	74	143
CUT	Erik van Rooyen	+2	72	72	144
CUT	Peter Malnati	+2	74	70	144
CUT	Gary Woodland	+2	72	72	144
CUT	Matt Kuchar	+2	72	72	144
CUT	Davis Chatfield	+2	73	71	144
CUT	John VanDerLaan	+2	75	69	144
CUT	Jesper Svensson	+2	70	74	144
CUT	Adam Svensson	+2	72	72	144
CUT	Vince Whaley	+2	70	74	144
CUT	Chris Kirk	+2	70	74	144
CUT	Stephan Jaeger	+2	71	73	144
CUT	Paul Waring	+2	72	72	144
CUT	Neal Shipley	+2	70	74	144
CUT	Justin Lower	+3	75	70	145
CUT	Brice Garnett	+3	73	72	145
CUT	Andrew Putnam	+3	73	72	145
CUT	Danny Willett	+3	71	74	145
CUT	Camilo Villegas	+3	70	75	145
CUT	Adam Hadwin	+3	71	74	145
CUT	Johnny Keefer	+3	70	75	145
CUT	Brandt Snedeker	+4	72	74	146
CUT	Charley Hoffman	+4	73	73	146
CUT	S.H. Kim	+4	74	72	146
CUT	Kensei Hirata	+5	75	72	147
CUT	Karl Vilips	+5	69	78	147
CUT	Nick Dunlap	+5	74	73	147
CUT	Blades Brown	+5	75	72	147
CUT	Jeffrey Kang	+5	74	73	147
CUT	Justin Hicks	+6	74	74	148
CUT	Harry Higgs	+6	74	74	148
CUT	Aaron Wise	+7	73	76	149
CUT	K.H. Lee	+7	75	74	149
CUT	Christo Lamprecht	+7	75	74	149
CUT	Marcelo Rozo	+8	77	73	150
CUT	Rico Hoey	+8	78	72	150
CUT	Brendon Todd	+8	77	73	150
CUT	Sami Valimaki	+9	80	71	151
CUT	Rafael Campos	+9	77	74	151
CUT	Cam Davis	+10	72	80	152
CUT	Frankie Capan III	+10	75	77	152
CUT	Isaiah Salinda	+11	77	76	153
CUT	Alejandro Tosti	+13	77	78	155
W/D	Keita Nakajima	-	73	-	73

Simon Bale (Editor)

The editorial team at Golf Today strives to provide readers with captivating content that celebrates the rich heritage and exciting developments in the world of golf. Their collective expertise and dedication ensure that Golf Today remains a premier destination for golf enthusiasts seeking the latest news, insightful analysis, and engaging stories from the world of golf.

Updated: February 28, 2026

Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches 2026

Date: 26th February - 1st March, 2026

Location: PGA National Resort (The Champion Course), Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Purse: $9,600,000

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Austin Smotherman takes opening lead in Florida, Austin Smotherman holds on to lead