Highsmith's victory at Cognizant, in which he carded back-to-back 64s in the final two rounds to set a tournament record, comes with its privileges.

Riding a career-defining weekend performance and benefiting from his rivals' timely stumbles, Highsmith accomplished something truly remarkable—becoming the first PGA Tour player since Brandt Snedeker in 2016 to make the cut on the number then surge all the way to victory,

Joe Highsmith entered a rare club of PGA Tour winners accomplishing a feat at the 2025 Cognizant Classic that had not been seen in nearly a decade.