Joe Highsmith could feel himself crumbling under the pressure at the Cognizant Classic.

This was Friday, when the only thing at stake was making the cut. It came down to a 5-foot par putt he described as “the worst putt you’d ever want,” moving from right to left, nervy for a left-handed player. He made the par. He made the cut.

Two days later, he was a PGA Tour winner headed to the Masters for the first time.

Highsmith had the lowest weekend score in PGA National history with a pair of 6-under 64s to win the Cognizant Classic. He is the first player in nine years to go from making the cut on the number to hoisting the trophy.

“Winning was the last thing on my mind,” Highsmith said. “It’s incredible to come out on top. I played probably the best round of my life.”

Highsmith rallied from a four-shot deficit with three straight birdies around the turn and a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th that all but clinched it.

He had a little help from Jake Knapp, who opened the tournament with a 59 and held it together until one shot into the water and two more to get out.

Knapp, trying to become the first wire-to-wire winner in tournament history, had a one-shot lead when his wedge to the 11th came up short and into the water, with only half of the golf ball submerged. He tried to blast out and it trickled down the slope and back to the water. He tried again, this time the ball holding up in the rough.

“Didn’t hit any of them really hard enough, unfortunately,” Knapp said.

He would up with a triple bogey and never caught up. Knapp didn’t make another birdie the rest of the way, closed with a 72 and tied for sixth along with Michael Kim (71), who played with him in the final group.

Jacob Bridgeman closed with a 64 and J.J. Spaun had a 66 to share second place.

LPGA Tour

Lydia Ko finally conquered the LPGA’s HSBC Women’s World Championship, clinching her first title at her 11th attempt with a dominant four-stroke win over Ayaka Furue and Jeeno Thitikul.

The 2024 Olympic gold medalist and Women’s British Open champion overcame a middling start before finding her rhythm with a birdie on the par-5 sixth. Ko added back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 and 8, seizing control of the leaderboard

DP World Tour

Dylan Naidoo held his nerve on the first playoff hole against Laurie Canter with a birdie putt to win the rain-marred South African Open for his first European tour win and a spot in the British Open.