PGA Tour Brunch | Cognizant Classic
Second Round Coverage from Cognizant at The Palm Beaches
By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk
PALM BEACH GARDENS - Austin Smotherman (1st/-9), a Loomis, California native, hit 10 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens in regulation for a bogey-free 9-under (62) to match his low round on TOUR (R1/2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship).
He holds 18-hole lead/co-lead for the third time on TOUR: 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship (T23), 2023 VidantaWorld Mexico Open (T5).
Smotherman’s nine birdies equaled his most in a single round on TOUR (R1/2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship and his six consecutive birdies on Nos. 7-12 marks his most consecutive birdies in a round for TOUR career.
Smotherman missed the cut in lone previous appearance at The Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches (2022).
Nico Echavarria (2nd/-8) carded a bogey-free, 8-under (63) to match his career low round on TOUR (six times, most recent: R2/2026 American Express) and his low round at The Cognizant Classic.
He notched four missed cuts and one Top-10 (T8/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am) in five starts this season as the Colombia native seeks his third PGA TOUR title (2023 Puerto Rico Open, 2024 Baycurrent Classic). This is his fourth appearance at The Cognizant Classic (MC/2023, T21/2024, MC/2025).
Will Zalatoris withdrew ahead of the opening round with an ankle injury and was replaced by Ben Silverman (T82/+2)
Opening-round scores for notable players in the field:
2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry (T35/-1)
Defending champion of The Cognizant Classic Joe Highsmith (T35/-1)
No. 26 in the Official World Golf Ranking, the highest-ranked player in the field Ryan Gerard (T82/+2)
Five-time major championship winner Brooks Koepka (T98/+3)
Cognizant Classic | Leaderboard After 18 Holes
1 Austin Smotherman 62 (-9)
2 Nico Echavarria 63 (-8)
T3 Taylor Moore 67 (-4)
T3 Jackson Suber 67 (-4)
T3 Kevin Roy 67 (-4)
T3 Daniel Berger 67 (-4)
T3 Kristoffer Reitan 67 (-4)
T3 Pontus Nyholm 67 (-4)
Full Leaderboard: (link)
The Cog | Tournament Facts
COURSE: PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
YARDS/PAR: 7,223 yards/Par 71
ARCHITECTS: Tom Fazio
PRIZE Money - Purse/Winner: $9,600,000/$1,728,000
OVERVIEW: (link)
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Joe Highsmith
PAST RESULTS: (link)
FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup
How to Watch: Visit (PGATourCom)
The Cog | The Basics
The Tee Times will run from 6:45am to 1:35pm (EST).
Weather: Today’s forecast is cloudy, turning mostly sunny. Winds at 10-13 mph. Temperatures 74-83 degrees with a 24% chance of rain this afternoon.
Tournament Web Site: (link)
FedEx Cup Info: (link)
PGA Tour Brunch will post at 8:00am (ET) Saturday.
How to Watch | Cognizant Classic at The Palm Beaches
Friday, February 27, 2026 - (All Times Eastern)
6:45am - 6:00pm - ESPN+ Streaming
12 Noon - 6:00pm - PGA Tour Radio on Sirius XM and Online at PGATour.com
2:00pm - 6:00pm - Golf Channel
The Cog: Field, Tee Times, Updates and Leaderboard
The Field: (link)
Tee Times: (link)
Updates:
Friday, February 20
Daniel Berger IN
Michael Kim WD
Sunday, February 22
Taylor Pendrith WD / Sam Ryder IN
Adam Hadwin IN (sponsor exemption)
Monday, February 23
Ben Griffin WD / Jackson Suber IN
Jacob Bridgeman WD / Lanto Griffin IN
Patrick Rodgers WD / Brandt Snedeker IN
Harry Higgs IN (sponsor exemption)
Field expanded from 121 players to 123 to round out threesomes:
Frankie Capan III IN
Carson Young IN
Adam Scott WD / Chan Kim IN
Will Zalatoris WD / Ben Silverman IN
Tournament Leaderboard: (link)
Last Week’s Final Leaderboard: (link)
Last Year’s (2025) Cognizant Leaderboard: (link)
What They’re Saying
Smotherman on Top at Cognizant (ESPN
Six Straight Birdies (PGATourCom)
Ford’s Wild Ride (PGATourCom)
On This Day in Golf History
February 27, 1992 - Sixteen year old Tiger Woods made his PGA Tour debut when he played as an amateur at the Nissan Los Angeles Open. Woods shot and opening round (72) but followed that with a (75) and missed the cut. - (Courtesy of Randy Walker), Author of On This Day in Golf History, available via Amazon.com and by clicking HERE
Parting Putt
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