A surprising comeback from Joe Highsmith helped the American go from the underside of the leaderboard after two rounds to victory by two photographs on the Cognizant Traditional in Florida.
Highsmith wanted a five-foot putt on the 18th simply to make the minimize on Friday and went into the weekend eight photographs behind the leaders.
However the 24-year-old hit back-to-back seven-under par 64s, the bottom 36-hole rating within the 53-year historical past of the occasion, to complete on 19-under and safe his first PGA Tour win.
“I performed in all probability the very best spherical of my life,” mentioned Highsmith, whose bogey-free last spherical included a run of 4 birdies in 5 holes from ninth and a putt from almost 21 toes on the seventeenth.
“[My mum] was supposed to depart on the flip however I used to be like, ‘nicely what if I am like five-under by 9, mother?’
“I performed nice on the entrance after which I noticed her on the twelfth gap and was like, ‘yeah, she cancelled her flight’.”
It’s simply the third time in 15 years a participant has made the minimize on the quantity and gone on to win and the primary since since Brandt Snedeker on the 2016 Farmers Insurance coverage Open.
The victory means Highsmith features computerized entry to The Masters at Augusta subsequent month and the PGA Championship in Might. It additionally secures his PGA Tour card by to 2027 and entry to the rest of this season’s PGA Tour Signature Occasions, beginning with the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which begins on Thursday.
“These greatest gamers on the planet, I do not actually play in the identical occasions as any of them, particularly final 12 months and even this 12 months,” mentioned Highsmith.
“It will be fairly enjoyable to get to compete and form of see how I stack up with a few of them.”
Jacob Bridgeman and JJ Spaun completed tied for second, with Max McGreevy and Ben Griffin one shot additional again.
Jake Knapp, who carded a 12-under-par 59 in Friday’s first round, completed tied for sixth after a final-round 72, which included a treble bogey on the eleventh.
