(Flickr.com)

The PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic concluded Sunday, March 2, at PGA National in the Palm Beaches, Florida, a tournament that has been played annually since 1972, and has been the host to many historic tournaments and winners.

Twenty-four year old Joe Highsmith, a first-time winner, snatched the victory by two shots at 19 under par, accomplishing this feat after making the Friday cut on the number, the first to do so since 2016. He then fired two straight rounds of 64 to secure his maiden win and took home a paycheck of 1,565,000 of the 9,200,000 purse. Second place finishers, JJ Spain and Jacob Bridgeman, each took home 818,000.

Other big storylines this week include Jake Knapp’s historic 59 on Thursday. The 30-year old, known for his silky, smooth swing, shot a twelve under round of 59. He comes as just the 14th player ever on the PGA Tour to shoot 59, and the first since last year.

And maybe the biggest story to come out of the week was Luke Clanton securing his PGA Tour card through PGA Tour U Accelerated, a points-based system for all college freshman, sophomores, and juniors. To secure a tour card, you must earn 20 points before your senior year. There are many ways to earn points, one of them being to make the cut in a PGA Tour event. Luke Clanton, the number one amateur in the world and current junior at Florida State, came into the week with 19 points, needing to make the cut to secure his final point. This was no problem for him as he shot rounds of 67 and 66 to make the cut by five strokes. Clanton will have a PGA Tour card waiting for him whenever he decides to leave college and turn pro.

The PGA Tour returns on Thursday, March 6, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida, where world number one Scottie Scheffler will look to defend his title from 2024.