Nico Echavarria didn’t make a single bogey all weekend at PGA National. Shane Lowry was on track to do the same until everything unraveled in the final holes.
That dramatic swing decided the Cognizant Classic.
Echavarria, who trailed by three shots with just three holes remaining, fired a 5-under 66 on Sunday to capture the title at 17-under 267. He finished two shots clear of Lowry (69), Austin Smotherman (69) and Taylor Moore (68).
“Sometimes you have to have good breaks,” Echavarria said.
He got them. Lowry didn’t.
Lowry’s relationship with PGA National remains complicated. He’s finished in the top 11 for five straight years without hoisting a trophy. This time, consecutive double bogeys at 16 and 17 doomed his chances, both coming from tee shots that sailed way right into the water.
The victory marks Echavarria’s third PGA Tour win but first on American soil. The 31-year-old Colombian also secured his second Masters invitation. The $1.728 million winner’s check represents the biggest payday of his career, topping the prize from his Zozo Championship win in Japan last year by about $200,000.
Lowry had been in complete control. He chipped in for birdie on the par-4 ninth to kickstart a blistering stretch where he went 5 under through five holes. With a three-shot cushion over Echavarria heading to 16, victory seemed within reach.
That’s when everything fell apart.
His long iron off the 16th tee sailed way right into the water. After taking a penalty drop, Lowry hit a wedge back to the fairway, but his fourth shot found a greenside bunker. From an awkward stance, he blasted to 3½ feet and converted the putt for double bogey—shrinking his lead to just one.
Meanwhile, Echavarria seized the moment at the par-3 17th, hitting his approach to about 10 feet. He drained the putt to pull even, punctuating the moment with a fist pump as the ball disappeared into the cup.
Lowry then made another double at 17 after his iron shot came up well short and right. Needing a miracle at the par-5 18th, his approach found a greenside bunker. His shot from nearly 30 yards skidded past the hole, and Echavarria—watching from the scoring tent—knew the tournament was his.
This continues Lowry’s star-crossed history at PGA National. He finished second in 2022 when the event was called the Honda Classic, losing the lead after getting caught in a downpour on the final hole. He tied for fifth in 2023, held the solo lead entering Sunday before finishing tied for fourth in 2024, and tied for 11th last year.
On paper, this was his best finish at PGA National. It certainly didn’t feel that way.
Doubleheaders for Homa and Kim
Max Homa (tied for 13th) and Tom Kim (59th) pulled double duty Sunday. They were scheduled to play for Jupiter Links in a TGL match Sunday night, just about 5 miles from PGA National. Homa wasn’t sure if he’d ever competed in two events on the same day before.
“I doubt I have,” he said. “I’m sure when I was young I might have got close, but I can’t think of it off the top of my head.”
Notes
Brooks Koepka and Ben Silverman played all four rounds together this week—and both holed out for birdie from the sand on the par-4 14th Sunday. “I’m sure he’s tired of me now,” Koepka said. “He’s a good player. I’ve known him for a long time.” Koepka closed with a 65 to finish tied for ninth, by far his best result since returning to the PGA Tour.
Max McGreevy made an albatross on the par-5 third hole. It was the first at PGA National in the tournament’s 20 years at the course, according to the tour.
Defending champion Joe Highsmith finished 67th out of the 67 players who made the cut. He posted a 6-over 290, a stunning 25 shots worse than his winning score last year.
