And that’s what the Cognizant Classic has decided.
Echavarria – who was three shots back with three holes to go – shot a 5-under 66 to win at the PGA National on Sunday, finishing at 17-under 267 and beating Lowry (69), Austin Smotherman (69) and Taylor Moore (68) by two shots.
“Sometimes you have to have good breaks,” Echavarria said.
He has them. Lowry didn’t.
Lowry – who remains a snakebite from PGA National, where he has now finished in the top 11 without a win for five straight years – was undone by consecutive double bogeys at the par-4 16th and par-3 17th, both resulting from tee shots that drifted far to the right into the water.
It was Echavarria’s third PGA Tour victory and first in the United States, earning a second Masters invitation for the 31-year-old from Colombia. The $1.728 million winner’s check was the largest of his career, about $200,000 more than what he got for winning the 2024 Zozo Championship in Japan.
Lowry – who has been in contention at PGA National for the past five years and held late leads in 2022 and 2024 – rolled along and birdied the par-4 ninth to start a run that saw him go 5 under in a five-hole stretch.
And he had a three-shot lead over Echavarria going into the par-4 16th. That’s where his nightmare began.
Lowry’s long iron off the tee was perfectly positioned and found the water. After a penalty drop, he hit a wedge back to the fairway and his fourth shot found a bunker on the green. From an awkward position, he shot to 3 1/2 feet and rolled in the putt for a double bogey, cutting his lead to one.
While all that was happening, Echavarria hit his approach on the par-3 17th to about 10 feet. He made the putt to tie the game, watching the ball roll into the hole.
Lowry then made another double on 17 with an iron shot that was more than short and sweet. He needed a miracle on the par-5 18th after playing his second shot into a greenside bunker. Lowry’s shot from almost 30 yards slid past and Echavarria – in the scoring tent, watching the finish – knew he had won.
Lowry finished second in 2022, when the event was still called the Honda Classic, and lost the lead after being caught in a flurry on the final hole. A year later, he finished in fifth place at the PGA National, had the solo lead going into the final round before finishing tied for fourth in 2024, and tied for 11th last year.
This was, on paper, his best result at PGA National. It just didn’t feel that way.
Doubleheaders for Homa and Kim
Max Homa (tied for 13th) and Tom Kim (59th) had a doubleheader on Sunday. They played Sunday night for Jupiter Links in a TGL match about 5 miles away from PGA National. Homa wasn’t sure he’d ever had two competitive events in one day.
“I doubt that’s the case,” he said. “I’m sure I may have been close when I was young, but I can’t think of it off the top of my head.”
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Brooks Koepka and Ben Silverman played all four rounds together this week – and both holed a birdie from the sand on the par-4 14th on 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 tie for ninth, by far his best finish 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, the tour said. Defending champion Joe Highsmith finished 67th of the 67 players who made the cut. He finished at 6-over-290, 25 shots worse than a year ago.
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