Joe Highsmith joins highly exclusive club after Cognizant Classic triumph

Joe Highsmith emerged victorious at the 2025 Cognizant Classic at PGA National Resort on Sunday, March 2. He became the first player to win a tournament after making the cut on the number after 2016.

Highsmith scored 65 and 72 in the first two rounds and made the tournament cut by just one shot on 5-under. The 24-year-old performed splendidly in the third round and scored 7-under 64 with five birdies, an eagle, against a bogey.

In the final round, he again scored 7-under 64 with the help of seven birdies and won the tournament by two strokes over Jacob Bridgeman and J.J. Spaun. He shot the lowest 72-hole score at the PGA National of 19-under.

Highsmith also became the first player to win a PGA Tour tournament after making the cut on the number after Brandt Snedeker did it at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open. He also became the sixth player to achieve the feat since 2003.

Six PGA Tour players have won a tournament after making the cut on the number since 2003. They are as follows:

• Joe Highsmith at 2025 Cognizant Classic
• Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open.
• Carl Pettersson at 2010 RBC Canadian
• Steve Stricker at the 2009 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial
• Mark Wilson at the 2007 Honda Classic
• Vijay Singh at 2004 AT&T Classic

Talking about making the cut on Friday, Highsmith said (via ASAP Sports):

"Yeah, I mean, making the weekend, I played really nice the first day and was kind of trending off a pretty good week in Mexico, so I was feeling good. Then I kind of had a roller coaster day on Friday with two doubles and two bogeys, and found myself with a five-footer on 18 just to play the weekend."

"I was like, man, am I really going to miss the cut? I feel like I played really good the day before and even on Friday did a lot of really good things," he added.

Joe Highsmith won a prize money of $1,656,000 for winning the tournament.

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How did Joe Highsmith perform in 2024?

Joe Highsmith had a rollercoaster 2024 season. In 26 starts on the PGA Tour, he made 13 cuts but also missed 13 cuts. He finished 110th in the FedExCup Fall standings.

His best performances include a fifth finish at the World Wide Technology Championship, a T6 finish at the Puerto Rico Open and a T6 finish at the Black Desert Championship.

Let's take a look at Joe Highsmith's performances in the 2024 season:

2024 PGA TOUR Tournaments

• Sony Open in Hawaii: Missed Cut
• The American Express: T34
• Farmers Insurance Open: T33
• Mexico Open at Vidanta: Missed Cut
• Cognizant Classic: Missed Cut
• Puerto Rico Open: T6
• Valspar Championship: Missed Cut
• Texas Children's Houston Open: T21
• Valero Texas Open: T51
• Corales Puntacana Championship: Missed Cut
• THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson: Missed Cut
• Myrtle Beach Classic: Missed Cut
• RBC Canadian Open: Missed Cut
• Rocket Mortgage Classic: T57
• John Deere Classic: Missed Cut
• ISCO Championship: Missed Cut
• Barracuda Championship: Missed Cut
• 3M Open: T44
• Wyndham Championship: Missed Cut
• Procore Championship: T13
• Sanderson Farms Championship: T55
• Black Desert Championship: T6
• Shriners Children's Open: T16
• World Wide Technology Championship: 5
• The RSM Classic: T11

2024 Korn Ferry Tournaments

• Compliance Solutions Championship: Missed Cut