From cutline to champion, Joe Highsmith makes remarkable comeback at Cognizant Classic to win first PGA TOUR title
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – The biggest putt of Joe Highsmith’s week was the exact type of putt he hates.
Highsmith had just run his birdie try uncomfortably past the pin at the 18th hole and stood over the 5-foot comebacker knowing it was a must-make but one he always misses: a slick right-to-left breaker on a baked-out, bumpy green. Highsmith tends to do everything – block them, wipe them, blow them by the hole – but make them.
“It was like the worst putt you’d ever want,” Highsmith said.
And this putt didn’t come Sunday for the eventual champion at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. It was on Friday, to make the cut with the weekend on the line.
Had Highsmith missed that par try, he would’ve been sent packing, his fourth missed cut in six starts. Instead, Highsmith rammed the putt into the back of the hole, fist-pumped and secured a tee time for the next morning. Then he shot 64-64 to come out of nowhere and win his first PGA TOUR-sanctioned tournament at PGA National by two shots over Jacob Bridgeman and J.J. Spaun.
“I didn’t want to leave knowing that I had wished the last putt,” Highsmith said.
What happened over the final two rounds was a mix of renewed mental clarity and an absurd weekend with the putter. The end result was an improbable breakthrough victory.
Highsmith is the first player to make the cut on the number and go on to win the event since Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open. It’s just the third time it’s been done in the last 15 years.
“That was the last thing I was expecting at the start of the day was a win,” Highsmith said.
If a win felt unlikely to Highsmith to start Sunday, it must’ve felt downright ridiculous at the start of his third round. The old adage that anything can happen on the weekend is true – this weekend showed it – but it’s said a lot more than it’s followed through with. And Highsmith was far from that mindset as he warmed up Saturday. He said he hit it “horribly” in his pre-round range session and walked to the first tee just hoping to keep his game from spiraling at PGA National, which can trip up the best of them even with easier conditions this year.
But Highsmith has spent the last several months trying to separate the golf swing from his golf brain. Working with his college coach at Pepperdine, Michael Beard, Highsmith has re-prioritized mental clarity. Even if his swing isn’t solid, Beard wanted Highsmith to make sure the mindset is. If he stepped into every shot with commitment, regardless of how the swing felt, that would loosen him up to execute the best possible shot.
“It’s a sensation of total – there’s nothing interrupting the actual motion, “Beard said. “There’s no doubt … It’s just total freedom through the ball.”
A few weeks ago, that bad range session might have sunk Highsmith. With mental clarity serving as the top priority, Highsmith was able to navigate through it. After Highsmith admitted to his caddie Joe LaCava IV (yes, his dad is who you think he is) that he didn’t feel good in Round 3, Highsmith birdied the third hole to get into red numbers for the day. He added five more birdies and an eagle over the next 15 holes to shoot 7-under 64, the round of the day, with a sterling putting performance. Highsmith made 135 feet of putts in the third round and gained nearly three-and-a-half shots on the greens.
“I putted as good as I ever have before and then some for sure,” Highsmith said after Saturday’s round.
While putting is often unsustainable from day-to-day, especially on an outlier day like Highsmith described, the second-year pro managed another career day on Sunday. He gained another three strokes on the green as he carded another 7-under 64. He didn’t miss a putt inside 15 feet in the final round. Unsurprisingly, he led the field in SG: Putting, gaining more than 12 shots for the tournament.
“I played probably the best round of my life,” Highsmith said Sunday.
The tournament appeared destined for a dramatic finish midway through the final round, with as many as four players tied for the lead at one point. But by the time Highsmith reached the 18th tee, even with three groups behind him, the tournament was all but over. Highsmith birdied 10, 11 and 13 and holed a crucial 21-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to extend his lead to two shots.
“(My mom) was supposed to leave at the turn but I was like, ‘Well what if I’m like 5-under through 9, Mom’ … I played great on the front and then I saw her on the 12th hole and was like, ‘Yeah, she canceled her flight.'”
Highsmith can cancel some plans, too. He was scheduled to fly from West Palm Beach to Puerto Rico for the first Additional Event of the season next week – the Puerto Rico Open. Instead, he will make a short two-hour drive to Orlando for the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, the first Signature Event of his career. He’s in the Masters and PGA Championship as well, with his PGA TOUR card secure through 2027.
“Those best players in the world, I don’t really – especially last year and even this year, I don’t play in the same events as any of them,” he said. “It’ll be pretty fun to get to compete and kind of see how I stack up with some of them.”
None of them have been able to do this year what Highsmith did Sunday. His victory at the Cognizant Classic is the largest final-round comeback of the 2025 season (four strokes) and the largest final-round comeback on TOUR since Scottie Scheffler came back from five strokes at the 2024 PLAYERS Championship.
Remember, anything can happen on the weekend of a PGA TOUR event. You just have to make the weekend first.
SOURCE:[pgatour.com]
