Joe Highsmith shot 7-under-par 64 for the second day in a row, coming from behind to win the Cognizant Classic by two strokes for his first PGA Tour victory Sunday at PGA National Resort’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Highsmith made the cut on the number Friday, but by Sunday afternoon he had created space atop the leaderboard. He rolled in a putt from nearly 21 feet away on the par-3 17th hole for a two-stroke advantage and no one could catch him.
He became the first PGA Tour player since Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open to make a cut on the number and go on to win, according to the NBC telecast.
Highsmith’s bogey-free round made the 24-year-old a winner in his 34th outing on the tour. He had three previous top-10 finishes.
His 19-under 265 was two strokes better than runners-up Jacob Bridgeman (64) and J.J. Spaun (66).
Max McGreevy (67) and Ben Griffin (69) tied for fourth place at 16 under.
Jake Knapp, who had led nearly nonstop since his opening-round 59, couldn’t keep up the pace. He shot 72 and finished tied for sixth place at 15 under with Russell Henley (70) and Michael Kim (71).
Knapp was undone when he unsuccessfully tried to hit out of a water hazard on the 11th hole, resulting in a triple-bogey 7. That sent him from tied for the lead to fifth place.
Knapp was bidding to become the first golfer on the PGA Tour to shoot a sub-60 round and go on to win since Snedeker in the 2018 Wyndham Championship.
–Field Level Media
