[PHOTO: Mike Ehrmann]
Joe Highsmith sports a safari-like hat. That was appropriate as he went hunting for his first PGA Tour title at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches. Like any good hunter, Highsmith stayed patient and let his “prey” make the mistakes, firing a bogey-free final-round 64 to win after having just made the weekend on the cut number, eight shots behind.
The solid-swinging lefty won in just his 34th start as a pro and did so with a combination that works well at PGA National’s Champion course – solid driving, a nervy short game and reliable putting.
Off the tee Highsmith ranked 12th in strokes gained/off-the-tee with his 8-degree Titleist GT3 driver with a HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 6.5 shaft, picking up nearly three shots on the field off the tee.
Highsmith followed up what he termed “the best putting round of my life” in the third round (when he made 135 feet of putts) with more fine work with his Scotty Cameron by Titleist 009M tour prototype blade putter on the final day. That included birdie putts of 18 feet at the fourth hole, another 18-footer at the 11th and a 15-footer at the 13th.
Highsmith followed that last birdie with a big up-and-down for par from behind the 14th green with his Titleist Vokey SM10 wedge. The save should come as no surprise as Highsmith routinely engaged in chipping contests as a youngster at Tacoma Country & Golf Club in Washington.
Still, he needed to navigate the Bear Trap trio of holes that followed and did so deftly, hitting the green on all three holes and dropping a 21-footer for birdie at 17 that effectively sealed the win. For the week Highsmith ranked seventh in strokes gained/putting and third in putts per GIR.
The clubs Joe Highsmith used to win the 2025 Cognizant Classic:
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: Titleist GT3 (HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 6.5), 8 degrees
3-wood: Titleist GT3, 15 degrees
Irons (2): Titleist T200; (4-9): Titleist T100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM10 (46, 50, 54, 58 degrees)
Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist 009M tour prototype
