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Joe Highsmith, who won his first-ever PGA Tour tournament, the Cognizant Classic at the Palm Beaches, has expressed confidence in defending his maiden title next year. Highsmith, who has gained automatic entry into the Masters and the PGA Championship, can also carry his PGA Tour card until 2027.
In the post-tournament press conference, when asked whether he would return to the Cognizant Classic next year, Joe Highsmith said (via ASAP Sports):
“Oh, yeah, 100 percent. This is one of my favorite tournaments, regardless. I missed the cut last year and still couldn't wait to come back. But now especially after being my first win, it still doesn't really feel real, but this place is pretty special. I absolutely love everything about the tournament, regardless of how I've played. Yeah, really excited to come back here, hopefully, for years to come.”
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With this maiden PGA Tour win, Joe Highsmith also joined an exclusive club of sorts. Highsmith is now the first player on the Tour to win after making the cut on the number, which was 5-under, since Brandt Snedeker achieved the feat at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open.
Not only that, Highsmith is now the sixth player to accomplish this rare feat since 2003. Before him, as mentioned earlier, Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open, Carl Pettersson at the 2010 RBC Canadian, Steve Stricker at the 2009 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Mark Wilson at the 2007 Honda Classic, and Vijay Singh at the 2004 AT&T Classic achieved this rare milestone.
That 5-Foot Par that made the difference for Joe Highsmith
On the second day of the Cognizant Classic, February 28, Joe Highsmith looked as if he was going to struggle to make the cut. In fact, he was struggling and under immense pressure. The last thing Highsmith wanted was to miss that 5-foot par at the 18th and pack his bags to go home.
After the tournament, while speaking to the press, Joe Highsmith recalled that moment and said (via ASAP Sports):
“Yeah, it was, like, the worst putt you'd ever want. The greens were so baked out and bumpy and it was right to left, kind of falling away. Just a super sketchy putt. I hate right-to-left putts because I have a tendency to wipe them or block them a little bit.
"I think I had bogeyed two of the last five or something, made a couple of pars, and of course, I ended up with this five-footer just to make the cut. Same kind of thing; I just tried to make sure at a minimum I committed to it. I didn't want to leave knowing that I had wished the last putt on Friday, so I committed to it and fortunately, it went in.”
But after making the cut, there was no looking back for Highsmith. He had four rounds of golf at the tournament: 65, 72, 64, and 64. Highsmith recorded the lowest weekend score in PGA National history, with a pair of 64s (6-under) at the Cognizant Classic.
