Joe Highsmith accomplished PGA Tour feat not seen in nearly a decade

Despite his bucket hat and a 1-over 72 this past Friday in Round 2, Joe Highsmith looked absolutely terrific at the Cognizant Classic, setting a couple of course records at PGA National en route to his first PGA Tour victory.

And what's most interesting is that he had to fight just to make the cut.

At the end of Friday afternoon's second round, the eventual champion was staring down a slippery five-footer for par to keep his score right on the cutline at 5-under. But despite the pressure, he gritted his teeth, went through his preshot routine, and rolled in what ended up being the most critical shot of the tournament. Once that putt sank, everything changed. 

Due to his low rank going into the weekend, Highsmith had an early tee time on Saturday and took advantage, firing a 7-under 64 to catapult up the leaderboard and put him right in the mix.

Now, typically, when a player goes low like this, they rarely follow it up the next day. However, the 24-year-old was on a heater and fired a second straight 64 on Sunday to finish at 19-under for the week, two clear of J.J. Spaun and Jacob Bridgeman. 

He was unflappable and in the proverbial "zone" for 36 holes. His 128-stroke total over the weekend is a record for the lowest two final rounds since this tourney moved to PGA National, and his 19-under total also set a new mark.

Highsmith is also the first player in more than nine years to win a PGA Tour event after making the cut on the number, the last being Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open.

What winning the Cognizant Classic means for Joe Highsmith

Highsmith's first win on the PGA Tour obviously means a great deal, as it gives him a two-year exemption. And with the Pepperdine alum successfully holding off a number of solid players, he's also earned himself invitations to some of the game's most high-profile events.

The most notable of those, of course, is next month's Masters, which Highsmith has attended as a spectator but never as a player. So, that's a chance to live out a childhood dream when he tees it up alongside the biggest stars in the game.

He also receives automatic invitations to the remaining Signature Events on this year's schedule, starting with this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. He's also now exempt for next week's Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass and the PGA Championship.

Highsmith has only 34 PGA Tour starts under his belt and has only made the cut in 16 of them. But now that he’s a winner, he won’t have to worry about Q-school next year and has a great chance to climb the FedEx Cup leaderboard to make the playoffs. 

Looks like the bucket hat is working.