Joe Highsmith made the cut on the number at 5 under par, then shot 14 under on the weekend to win the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.
Trailing by four shots to begin the final day on the Champion course at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Highsmith fired a bogey-free 7-under 64 to win his first PGA Tour title.
Joe Highsmith the 2025 Cognizant Classic Winner
“I played probably the best round of my life,” said Highsmith, 24, of Lakewood, Washington, who finished at 19-under 265, the lowest score since the tournament moved to PGA National in 2007.
Jake Knapp, who shot a 59 in the opening round and held the lead for the next two days, was one of five players who had at least a share of the lead on Sunday.
After two early birdies, Highsmith got a piece of the lead with three consecutive birdies around the turn. He hit a wedge to 3 feet on No. 9, two-putted for birdie on the par-5 10th and sank an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 11.
He took the lead at 18 under with a 15-foot birdie putt on 13 and rolled in a 20-foot birdie on the par-3 17th to extend his lead to two shots and was never challenged.
Highsmith Sank Clutch Putt to Make the Cut
His biggest putt before that was on his last hole on Friday.
“I had like a 5-footer for par and I was staring a missed cut right in the face and fortunately got that thing to go,” Highsmith said. “The last thing I thought I would be at the end of the week was a winner.
“It’s incredible. It feels really nice to play a round of golf like that.”
Jacob Bridgeman shot 64 to tie for second with J.J. Spaun, who shot 66, at 17 under. Max McGreevy shot 67 to tie for fourth with Ben Griffin, who started the day tied for third, two shots behind Knapp, and shot 69. Russell Henley (70), Michael Kim (71) and Knapp (72) tied for sixth at 15 under.
Knapp, who was trying to become the first wire-to-wire winner in tournament history, had held the lead since making 12 birdies for his 59 on the par-71 course on Thursday.
He went into the final day with a one-shot lead over Kim and had a share of the lead until his wedge to the 11th green came up short and in the water, with the ball just visible. His first attempt to hit the ball came back into the water. His next attempt landed on the steep upslope. He fifth shot made the green and he two-putted for a triple-bogey 7.
“I could see kind of the top quarter of the ball, figured I could just kind of blast it out and didn’t hit any of them really hard enough, unfortunately,” Knapp said of his decision. “I think today I played super solid outside of that one hole.”
Cognizant Classic was a Good Tournament for Spieth
Jordan Spieth had four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn Sunday to get on the fringe of contention, only to play the final six holes in 1 over for a 68 to tie for ninth with Erik van Rooyen at 14 under. It was Spieth’s second top 10 in four starts since coming back from wrist surgery in August.
“I feel like I’m trending in the right direction,” said Spieth, who followed his opening 65 with a 70 that included a watery triple-bogey with a three-putt on the 17th. “I’m one swing away on Friday from having a chance to win, and that was a 9-iron, which is just a 1-in-100 kind of chunk.
“I’m progressing, and I know that I’m on the right track. I’m not searching for answers. That’s a big difference.”
Florida State junior Luke Clanton made the cut on Friday to give him enough points for a PGA Tour card through the PGA Tour University Accelerated program. Clanton opened with rounds of 67 and 66 and shot 70-69 on the weekend to finish tied for 18th at 12 under. It was his sixth top-25 finish in 12 Tour starts.
Highsmith To Play in The Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard
With his victory, Highsmith earned starts in this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard at Bay Hill in Orlando, the other four Signature events, the Masters, and the PGA Championship. Scottie Scheffler is back to defend his title, along with Wyndham Clark, Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa.
This week’s opposite-field event is the Puerto Rico Open at Grand Reserve in Rio Grande. Brice Garnett won the 2024 tournament in a playoff with Erik Barnes after they tied at 19 under.
