Joe Highsmith picked up his first career PGA Tour win this weekend at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. He defeated J.J. Spaun and Jacob Bridgeman by two strokes with a score of 19-under par.
History was made at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches Thursday afternoon, when first-round leader Jake Knapp became just the 14th player in PGA Tour history to shoot a sub-60 round. His bogey-free 12-under 59 set the course record at PGA National Resort (The Champions Course).
Knapp had started his round with five straight birdies. He birdied the ninth hole to finish with a score of 29. After making the turn at 6-under, he birdied the 10th and 11th holes and continued his streak on the back nine. By the 18th hole, Knapp needed a birdie for that elusive 59. He set himself up for an eagle putt from just under 20 feet but slid it just by the hole to tap in for a birdie and a course record of 59. He was leading by four strokes after the first round, with Daniel Berger, Russel Henley and Sam Valimaki next on the leaderboard.
After two rounds, Knapp held a one-shot lead over Matthieu Pavon. The big story Friday, though, was 21-year-old Luke Clanton, who earned his PGA Tour card. He joins Gordon Sargent as the only two players to receive their PGA Tour cards through the PGA Tour University Accelerated, in which golfers must attain 20 points through amateur, college and professional golf by the end of their third year of NCAA eligibility to earn tour membership.
“I mean, Dad and Mom, what they’ve done for me, it’s kind of – can’t even put it into words. No one knows about it. No one really will ever know how much they did for me,” Clanton said Friday about his parents after receiving his PGA Tour card.
Friday afternoon was also the time when Highsmith faced his biggest challenge of the tournament, with a putt just under five feet to make the cut. He calmly sank the putt and set himself up for a comeback win.
Heading into the final round Sunday, Knapp was holding onto a one-shot lead and looking to become the first wire-to-wire winner in tournament history. But right behind him was a whole cluster of players within five shots.
Highsmith waited until the last day to make his move, starting the final round four shots behind Knapp. With birdies on holes 9-11, he took the lead, and after birdieing two more holes on the back nine, got into the clubhouse with the lead at 19-under par. His four-shot comeback is the largest come-from-behind victory of the 2025 season. He is the first player to win a PGA Tour event after making the cut on the number since Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open.
“Winning was the last thing on my mind. It’s incredible to come out on top. I played probably the best round of my life,” Highsmith said Sunday night. Highsmith will now get to play in the remaining signature events, the Masters and the PGA Championship this year for the first time.
Next week, the PGA Tour heads to two different events: the Puerto Rico Open and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, another signature event. This event will feature 72 players and a 36-hole cut, leaving the top 50 and ties to play the weekend. It’s also where Scottie Scheffler will look to win for the third time at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.
