Joe Highsmith, Jake Knapp and Luke Clanton provided three iconic moments at the 2025 Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches. All three will return for the 2026 tournament at PGA National.
Highsmith, Knapp and Clanton are among the next wave of commitments that also includes former world top 10 Will Zalatoris, who is returning this season from major back surgery; former winner Keith Mitchell; and 10 players currently in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
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Highsmith’s lone PGA Tour win came last year at Cognizant when he rallied from making the cut on the line to setting a tournament record with a 19-under 265. Highsmith shot back-to-back 64s on the weekend to secure the win.
Joe Highsmith poses with the trophy after winning the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches at PGA National Resort & Spa on Sunday, March 2, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
Knapp carded the 15th sub-60 score in PGA Tour history at the 2025 Cognizant, shooting a 59 in the opening round. Knapp had 12 birdies and six pars on the par-71 Champion Course. He finished T6 with a 15-under 269.
Clanton secured his PGA Tour card by making the cut a year ago at Cognizant. Clanton, at the time the world’s No. 1-ranked amateur and a sophomore at Florida State, earned his 20th point in the PGA Tour University Accelerated program by shooting a 5-under 66 in the second round. He finished T18 with a 12-under 272.
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Mitchell won the 2019 Cognizant (then known as the Honda Classic), holding off Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler. Mitchell is making his eighth start at the tournament where he has three top 10 finishes.
Zalatoris will make his Cognizant debut. He spent nine months among the top 10 in the world in 2022 and 2023 but has undergone two major back surgeries since, including disc replacement in May 2025. He returned in January at The American Express.
Shane Lowry leads 10 players among top 50 playing Cognizant
Joining Jupiter’s Shane Lowry among the top 50 in the world are Ryan Gerard of Jupiter, Aaron Rai, Matt McCarty, Michael Brennan, Rasmus Hojgaard, Michael Kim, Sami Valimaki, Pierceson Coody and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
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The commitments of Lowry, Koepka, Adam Scott and Jupiter’s Sahith Theegala were announced in January. Koepka, the Palm Beach County resident, returns to the field after leaving LIV Golf and returning to the PGA Tour.
Cognizant is scheduled for Feb. 26-March 1 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens. For information about tickets to the 2026 Cognizant Classic visit TheCognizantClassic.com.
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cognizant Classic field now has 10 players ranked in top 50 in world
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