The PGA Tour saw another first-time winner at the Cognizant Classic as Joe Highsmith won by two strokes.
Highsmith shot a bogey-free 7-under 64 to finish at 19-under overall. But the win seemed rather improbable just 48 hours ago.
He made the weekend right on the cutline. But, the Pepperdine graduate used his hot putter to finish the job.
His back-to-back 64s pushed him up the leaderboard, while others fell around him.
Highsmith became the first PGA Tour player in nine years to make the cut on the number and go on to win. The last to do so was Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers, per golf stat guru Justin Ray.
This year has been up and down for him, with three missed cuts, a T66, and a T17 last week at the Mexico Open. Yet, now he is a PGA Tour winner.
With this victory, Highsmith earned a spot in the field for next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, the fourth Signature Event of the season. He also earned $1,650,000 out of the $9.2 million purse.
J.J. Spaun and Jacob Bridgeman finished two shots behind him at 17-under and earned $818,800. Ben Griffin and Max McGreevy were T4 and each won $414,000. It was Griffin’s second straight T4 finish.
First time player at the Cognizant Classic, Jordan Spieth, claimed T9 and won $259,900.
How much money did the field make this week? Here is a full breakdown of the Cognizant Classic payout.
Next week, the PGA Tour will be at the Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the next Signature Event of 2025 with a $20 million purse.
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