After making the cut on the number at the PGA TOUR’s Cognizant Classic, held this week at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Joe Highsmith blistered the course over the weekend, firing back-to-back 64s to win his first PGA TOUR title.
Highsmith, 24, who grew up in Lakewood, Wash. and still resides there, is now in his second year on the tour, and has had four top-10 finishes before his breakthrough week in Florda.
A journeyman no more, the win changes everything for Highsmith. He jumped 113 spots to No. 10 in the FedEx Cup standings, and is exempt on tour for the next two seasons. He also earned a spot in next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational as well as the rest of the remaining signature events. But best of all, he will now get to make his debut at the Masters in April at Augusta National.
On the bag for Highsmith was Joe LaCava, Jr., whose father caddied for Fred Couples and Tiger Woods.
Highsmith had earned his way onto the PGA TOUR after finishing among the top 30 players on the Korn Ferry Tour in October 2023, his rookie year on that feeder tour.
While playing four years for Pepperdine University, Highsmith was a three-time All-West Coast Conference First Team selection, and was the WCC Freshman of the Year in 2019. He won the Western Intercollegiate and had seven top-10 tournament finishes as a junior. In 2021, he helped Pepperdine win the NCAA National Championship.
Highsmith won the 2019 Sahalee Players Championship, became the youngest player to ever win the Washington State Amateur in 2017, and finished T2 at the 2021 Pacific Coast Amateur.
He was twice named the WA Golf Men’s Player of the Year (2021, 2019), and twice named the PNGA Men’s Player of the Year (2021, 2019). He was also twice named the WA Golf Junior Boys’ Player of the Year (2016, 2017), and named the 2017 PNGA Junior Boys’ Player of the Year.
Highsmith made his professional debut on the PGA TOUR Canada circuit in June 2022, and lost in a playoff in his first start as a pro. He was playing that circuit via PGA TOUR University performance benefits and eventually finished No. 9 on the Order of Merit, which gave him playing status on the Korn Ferry Tour for 2023.
