PALM BEACH GARDENS – Joe Highsmith shot up the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches’ leaderboard with a birdie-free, 7-under 64 Saturday to move into second place as the final groups were teeing off.
Highsmith was tied for second at 12-under, one behind leader Jake Knapp, who had yet to tee off, when he finished his round. Highsmith predicted the leaders will have a difficult time matching that score because of the changing conditions on the Champion course at PGA National. It’s not the pushover it was in the first two rounds.
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“Thursday was insane how easy it was,” said Highsmith, a four-year pro from Pepperdine. “I was one of the first groups out (Saturday), and toward the end, they were starting to get a little firm. These guys in the afternoon are going to be playing a way harder golf course than we got to play this morning. Especially if the wind keeps up, it’ll be tough. Yesterday afternoon the greens were really chewed up and kind of crusty by the end of the day. I think it’ll be fairly tough this afternoon.
“The greens, even as today went on, kind of got a little bit firmer. They get more shiny and baked out a little bit. It’s not even 12:30, so the leaders teeing off at 2:00, I’d imagine by the end of the day the course will be playing pretty tough, especially if the wind keeps up.”’
Highsmith didn’t have an issue with the Champions’ greens during his round. He needed only 26 putts to make almost a combined 136 feet of putts.
“I putted as good as I ever have before and then some, for sure,” he said. “It was crazy to see all those putts drop.”
Max McGreevy matched Highsmith’s 64 to also move into a second-place tie midway through Saturday’s third round.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cognizant Classic offering tougher conditions after historic scores
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