3/3/25
March is upon us, which means we are one month closer to the majors, Ryder Cup, and, most importantly, nice and long summer days to play golf ourselves. Let’s take a look at some more news and headlines to kick off the week.
Lakewood’s Joe Highsmith Wins His First PGA Tour Event
Friday night, Joe Highsmith had a putt for par to make the cut on the number at -5. He poured it in, and his weekend would be spent in Florida at The Cognizant Classic. Highsmith fired a third-round 64 to thrust himself up the leaderboard but still had work to do on Sunday to catch Jake Knapp, who shot 59 in the first round to take a commanding lead.
As the wind whipped throughout the afternoon, the former Bellarmine Prep Lion stayed calm and steady. After Jake Knapp made a triple bogey on the 11th hole, Highsmith found himself standing atop the leaderboard. Highsmith bogeyed one hole for the final 36 holes, and went bogey-free for the final 20, punctuating his round with a birdie on the 71st hole to take a two-shot lead heading to the treacherous par-5, 18th hole. Taking a conservative route, Highsmith laid up, and on his third shot, didn’t dare test the pin that was a few yards away from the water lurking around the 18th green. Highsmith’s putter was reliable one last time, cozying a birdie putt to within three feet for a tap-in par to get into the clubhouse with his second straight 64, and at 19-under for the tournament. The lefty watched the rest of the field crumble around him, as his two-shot lead was more than secure to take home his first career PGA Tour victory in just his 34th start. Highsmith became the first player since Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open to make the cut on the number and go on to win the tournament.
Joe Highsmith attended Bellarmine Prep High School, where he won the 2017 WIAA Individual Boys Golf Tournament with a pair of 67’s. He was teammates with RJ Manke at Bellarmine Prep, who’s also on the PGA Tour. Highsmith went on to attend Pepperdine, where in 2021, the Waves won the Team National Championship. Highsmith won his match in the Championship Match 4&3 to help Pepperdine claim the national title. Highsmith grew up playing at Tacoma Country & Golf Club, where it’s still his home course. Highsmith had an illustrious junior career, highlighted by his win at the 2017 Washington Men’s State Amateur, becoming the youngest to ever win that event. This year, Highsmith had made only two of five cuts and was coming off a T-17 at the Mexico Open. Last season, Highsmith made history on the PGA Tour, becoming the first player to record three aces in the same season.
This win is important for Highsmith, as the PGA Tour is groundlessly cutting the amount of PGA Tour Cards that are given out, from 125 to 100, and eliminating Monday Qualifiers, limiting the opportunities for great stories like Joe to be showcased after the 2025 season. Highsmith was outside of the top 100 in the FedEx Cup Standings going into the week, which is how the Tour determines who retains their card for next season. Highsmith now sits at 10th in the FedEx Cup Standings, and with his win has locked himself into the Masters, PGA Championship, his Tour card through 2027, and will tee it up in the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week, which will be his first signature event of his career. The Top 70 players in the FedEx Cup Standings after the regular season make the FedEx Cup Playoffs, with the top 50 advancing to the BMW Championship, and the top 30 advancing to the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
From Prison Cell To Chasing The Claret Jug
This fickle game of golf is full of stories of improbable winners. Australia’s Ryan Peake has added his name to this list of improbable winners.
10 years ago, at age 21, Peake was part of a motorcycle gang, The Rebels, and was sentenced to five years in prison for taking part in a serious assault. He had to clear some hurdles to play in the New Zealand Open, due to New Zealand’s immigration officials seeing his criminal record. He arrived on Tuesday to try and secure a spot in the 153rd Open Championship.
Peake didn’t record a bogey in the final 55 holes and drained a birdie putt on the final hole to win by one shot and clinch a spot in golf’s oldest major. Peake will need special clearance to travel to Northern Ireland for the Open, but with his life-changing win, Royal Portrush should welcome him with open arms.
2022 Open Champion, Cameron Smith was teammates with Peake as junior golfers, to win the boys section of the Trans-Tasman Cup in 2010. The two Aussies have taken vastly different, and circuitous routes to their professional golf careers, but when they convene at The Open, that should be a sight to see.
Peake’s story is a reminder that you never know where the next great golf story will come from. Surely, those five years in prison felt like an eternity for Peake, and he’s hoping this isn’t the peak of his career. His name will resurface in July and will be an intriguing name to track for the Championship.
Get Those Handicaps Ready, It’s Posting Season
Saturday, March 1 was the first day of posting active rounds in Washington. Between March 1 and November 14, if you play a round of golf in Washington, you can post it to the USGA GHIN, to calculate your handicap index. If you don’t have a handicap index, head over to Washington Golf, and at the top click “Get A Handicap” to get started. Having an active USGA GHIN can allow you to participate in USGA events if your handicap index qualifies the criteria for that event(s).
TGL’s Inaugural Regular Season Wraps Up This Week
TGL has been enjoyable to watch for the most part in its first season. I expanded on those thoughts last week, and you can read them here. This week, three teams are battling for one postseason spot. New York Golf Club, Boston Commons, and Jupiter Links Golf Club are all eligible for the final playoff spot. As it stands, NYGC is in fourth with three points, Jupiter Links is in fifth place with two points, and Boston Commons is last with one point. Boston Commons squares off against NYGC on Monday night at 4 PM on ESPN2, while Jupiter Links takes on Atlanta Drive on Tuesday at 4 PM on ESPN.
The Bay Golf Club and Los Angeles Golf Club are the top two teams in the league, and the winner of their Monday match (12 PM on ESPN2) will be the number one seed in the postseason. The irony of the two co-creators of TGL, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, missing the playoffs would be the cherry on top of the first TGL season. Perhaps, Rory and Tiger could join the booth for the TGL playoffs if they both end up missing the postseason.
The semifinals will feature one match on Monday, March 17 at 4 PM on ESPN2, and the other semifinal on Tuesday, March 18 at 4 PM on ESPN. The Finals are a best-of-three, with the first match taking place on Monday, March 24 at 6 PM. Tuesday, March 25, could be a doubleheader if the two sides split the first two matches. The first match that Tuesday will be at 4 PM on ESPN and if there is a third match, it’ll start at 6 PM, also on ESPN.
There is one interesting addition to TGL this week, as amateur Luke Clanton will tee it up for Atlanta Drive. Clanton, currently a junior at Florida State, earned his PGA Tour card through PGA Tour University Accelerated by earning 20 points. Players can earn points depending on their accomplishments in college, amateur, and professional golf events. Clanton recorded back-to-back top ten finishes last summer, with at T-10 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and T-2 at the John Deere Classic to be the first amateur to record top ten finishes on the PGA Tour since 1957.
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