PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Nico Echavarria didn’t make a bogey all weekend. Shane Lowry was on his way to doing the same, until the very end.
And that’s what decided the Cognizant Classic.
Echavarria, who was three shots back with three holes left, shot a 5-under 66 on Sunday to win at PGA National, finishing at 17-under 267 and beating Lowry (69), Austin Smotherman (69) and Taylor Moore (68) by two shots.
«It was a blessing today,» Echavarria said. «I didn’t have my best off the tee, but I was able to manage. I had some good breaks. To win out here, sometimes you have to have good breaks if you’re not Scottie Scheffler that hits it every time in the perfect place. So, I’m happy with how it went.»
Camilo Villegas, Roberto De Vicenzo, Jhonattan Vegas, Carlos Franco and Ángel Cabrera.
Lowry, who has been in contention at PGA National in each of the past five years and had late leads in 2022 and 2024, was rolling along, chipping in for birdie on the par-4 ninth to start a run where he went 5 under in a five-hole stretch.
And he had a three-shot lead over Echavarria going to the par-4 16th. That’s where his nightmare began.
Lowry’s long iron off the tee was way right and found the water. After a penalty drop, he hit a wedge back to the fairway and his fourth shot found a greenside bunker. From an awkward stance, he blasted to 3½ feet and rolled in the putt for double bogey, trimming his lead to one.
Brooks Koepka closed with a 65 to finish in a tie for ninth, by far his best finish since returning to the PGA Tour.
Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.
