Two rounds are in the books at the 2026 Cognizant Classic, where Austin Smotherman holds a three-shot lead.
Players battled strong winds Friday, making PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens a real challenge as many battled to make the 36-hole cut, which ended up at even par.
Keep scrolling for leaderboard updates, scores, highlights and more from Friday’s second round of the 2026 Cognizant Classic.
2026 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches leaderboard
Check tee times and keep tabs on every score carded at PGA National this week with the 2026 Cognizant Classic live leaderboard. Here’s what it looked like at the top after play concluded on Friday:
| Position | Player | Score | Thru |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin Smotherman | -11 | F |
| 2 | Taylor Moore | -8 | F |
| T3 | A.J. Ewart | -7 | F |
| T3 | Nico Echavarria | -7 | F |
| 5 | Joel Dahmen | -6 | F |
| T6 | Shane Lowry | -5 | F |
| T6 | Mark Hubbard | -5 | F |
* Indicates player started on back nine
Austin Smotherman will sleep on the lead for a second straight night. The 31-year-old from Northern California shot 2-under 69 in Friday’s second round of the Cognizant Classic to enter the weekend at 11 under, three shots clear of Taylor Moore, who sits in solo second.
Smotherman’s round Friday wasn’t quite as clean as the blistering 62 he turned in on Thursday, but it was enough to maintain the solo lead. He started on the back nine with a birdie at No. 10 before back-to-back bogeys at the 11th and 12th. He then made two straight birdies at Nos. 17 and 18 and two more at Nos. 2 and 3 to take a stranglehold on the leaderboard with a four-shot advantage. A bogey at the sixth set him back to 11 under and brought his lead down to three at day’s end.
As expected, anyone who was over par after the second round at the Cognizant Classic will not play the weekend. The cutline held firm at even par through the end of Friday’s action, with 67 players earning a weekend tee time.
Austin Smotherman, who started on No. 10, made back-to-back birdies at the 17th and 18th and another at No. 2 to get to 11 under for the tournament and grab a two-shot lead as of 4:30 p.m. ET.
Shane Lowry entered this week as one of the biggest names in the field and one of the favorites to win the Cognizant Classic. He turned in a pedestrian round of 1-under 70 on Thursday but has caught fire Friday. As of 3:40 p.m. ET, he’s 5 under through 13 holes and has yet to make a bogey on the day. At 6 under for the tournament, he’s moved into the top five on the leaderboard.
Austin Smotherman slept on the outright lead after a 9-under 62 in Thursday’s first round. He opened with a birdie at the 10th on Friday, but back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 12 and 13 dropped him back to 8 under and into solo second. He rejoined Nico Echavarria at the top just after 3:30 p.m. ET with this bomb of a birdie putt at the 17th:
This was a big shot from Jimmy Stanger at the par-4 14th, as it got him from 1 under to 3 under, moving him safely inside the cutline. Unfortunately for Stanger, he made double bogey at the 17th a few holes later, so he’ll need a solid second nine to make the weekend.
You might remember Blades Brown from last month’s American Express, where the teenage prodigy played his way into the final group on Sunday alongside Scottie Scheffler. He finished tied for 18th there after a rough final round, but he’s making a push toward the cutline Friday at the Cognizant Classic. After opening with a bogey, Brown made four straight birdies on holes 3-6 to get to 1 over for the tournament and just one shot outside the projected cutline.
Brooks Koepka rallied on Friday with a 66 and will make his second cut in three outings back on the PGA Tour this season after returning from LIV Golf. But clearly, the five-time major champ has his eyes on bigger things.
«If I’m out here to try to make cuts, I’m probably done,» he said after his second round. «I just need to play like I did the first day and then putt like I did today. I have a feeling the putting will come around. But just been hitting it really good. Just nice to see a red number.»
Silverman probably thought he was a long shot to even make the field at the Cognizant, but then the WD’s started rolling in. Thursday morning, Will Zalatoris pulled out and that opened one final spot and it went to Silverman, who proceeded to shoot 73-67. He’s at 2 under through 36 holes and will cash a paycheck after making the weekend.
«I was 15th alternate Sunday. I moved to 13th Monday morning, then that moved to fourth Monday afternoon, and the three guys in front of me I knew were committed to Argentina, so once they pulled out Wednesday, then it was, maybe I’ve got a chance now,» he said after his Friday round. «I was pretty excited when it happened.»
By getting the spot Zalatoris had to give up, Silverman got grouped with Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger.
«I had the mentality that I was just practicing and preparing for next week because I’m going to be in Puerto Rico, and I’m here with my family as my third straight week at home, which has been amazing. If I got in, it would be a bonus in my mind,» he said. «So when it happened, I was almost reenergized until maybe two holes to go yesterday. My legs were wobbly. I was seeing the sun come down, and I was like, ‘I’ve been here all day’ and then had to wake up again at 4:30 again this morning.»
It’s a big week for Silverman, who is making his first PGA Tour start in 2026. He has conditional status this season after finishing 140th in the FedEx in 2025.
Koepka bogeyed his second-to-last hole of the day, the par-4 eighth. This after six birdies and a great day on the greens with the Spider putter. He then parred the last to sign for a 66, a nice round after his opening 74. He’s tied for 31st and 2 under overall. The projected cut is even, so Koepka is looking at two more tee times this weekend.
Meanwhile, Max Homa bounced back from an opening-round 73 with a Friday 66 and walked off the course tied for 14th.
«I don’t think I had very high expectations. Played really well yesterday and didn’t get anything out of it, which is kind of the theme of the year,» Homa said. «It was nice to make a couple putts early and get going in the red early, which helped kind of just take care of some of the things that went wrong yesterday.»
Wu rolled in a long one on his final hole of the day on Friday to get to even par, and that puts him right on the cutline.
We’ve seen plenty of interesting shots this week. Salinda is the latest and we get it: anything to save strokes:
Already 9 over on the week, Salinda clearly wasn’t his sharpest but give him credit for going the extra mile here. He would, however, miss the par putt and drop to 10 over. Part of his problem on Friday is that quad 8 he took on the par-4 11th hole.
As for 12:16 p.m. ET, the projected cut line for the Cognizant Classic is even par. According to DataGolf.com, there’s a 67 percent chance the cut lands there.
The PGA Tour reported Friday morning that Keita Nakajima withdrew ahead of his second round. No reason was given. He shot 73 on Thursday.
After looking like a long shot to make the cut following a rough opening round, Brooks Koepka came out fired up on Friday at PGA National.
Koepka, who grew up in West Palm Beach and now lives in Jupiter, shot a 3-over 74 and was tied for 100th when he finished on Thursday. He declined to talk to the media after the round.
But on Friday, he made birdie on four of his first seven holes, starting on the back nine, as he climbed to 1 under as of 9:30 a.m. That should put him in position to stick around for the weekend after he missed the cut in his last start at the WM Phoenix Open. The official current cut is estimated at even par. He added another birdie on No. 18 and then another on the 4th hole. As of 11:45 a.m. he sits at 3 under.
On Thursday, followed by the opening day’s biggest gallery, Koepka was 1 under through 12 holes. He dropped to even when he three-putted the par-4 13th from 28 feet for bogey, his 5-foot par attempt curving away inches in front of the cup. He then stumbled on three of his last six holes, including the 16th and 17th.
Austin Smotherman is set to tee off at 1:23 p.m. ET on Friday, and he was the first-round leader after a 62 that included nine birdies and no bogeys.
The 31-year-old SMU graduate is playing with a sense of urgency, not because of three missed cuts and a T8 at the American Express. His wife Jessica is expecting their third child on March 23.
«There’s so many what-if scenarios that we’ve discussed over the last two weeks. Her due date is Monday of Houston, so hopefully I’m flying from Valspar through Dallas to go meet a new child, or who knows what, or have a baby that week and then hopefully still play. That’s kind of our goal. We know this is a crazy time, crazy year, where I kind of need to play everything,» he said. «I’m hoping the baby doesn’t come Players week and I’ve got to make a really hard choice there. But the mind is free. I just want to go play golf, and the baby is going to come when babies come, I guess.»
After shooting a 67 on Thursday during the opening round, Daniel Berger was asked what he thought of the new tee on the 18th hole at PGA National’s Champions Course. No. 18 is a challenging finishing hole and now becomes more difficult on the two days the new tee box will be used. The setup will add 30 yards, making the hole 592 yards.
Berger admitted he doesn’t love it.
«I think it’s okay if it’s down off the right. It’s not my favorite,» he said. «It was already a pretty difficult long hole. I think the risk-reward from the up tee is probably a little better, but I’m sure they’ll move it up as the week goes on, maybe on Saturday and Sunday.»
Berger opened with bogeys on two of his first five holes on Friday, and as of 9:30 a.m. ET, he sits at 3 under for the tournament.
The 18th can now be stretched out to 592 yards. It played 586 (Thursday) and 582 (Friday).
Here’s the weather forecast for West Palm Beach for Friday:
After losing their 22-month-old daughter Mia, Camilo Villegas and his wife Maria brought life to a foundation that has become their focus. Mia’s Miracles was born to provide support — financially and emotionally — to children and families facing challenging circumstances.
This week offered another magical moment from the foundation:
NBC Sports will make its 2026 season debut as the lead golf network this weekend. Golf Channel, Peacock and PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ are also all involved in the coverage.
Second round, Friday, Feb. 27
How much money is up for grabs at the 2026 Cognizant Classic?
There is a total of $9,600,000 in the prize fund and there will be a $1,728,000 first-place check handed out to the winner on Sunday.
Brooks Koepka headlines field at the 2026 Cognizant Classic
Days after it was announced Koepka was returning to the PGA Tour, he joined the field for the Cognizant Classic. Koepka returns to the tournament held at PGA National after a three-year absence while playing for LIV. He played in the event seven times from 2014 to 2022, only missing it when he was injured.
Other notables in the field include defending champ Joe Highsmith, Max Homa, Shane Lowry and Adam Scott.
Where do they play the 2026 Cognizant Classic?
The tournament joined the schedule in 1972. Host venue PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, which opened in 1981, started hosting this event in 2007. PGA National is tied for 78th on the Golfweek’s Best 2026 top 200 resort golf courses in the U.S. list, which came out in January. Tom Fazio is the course architect. PGA National will play as a par 71 this week and measure 7,223 yards.
Who are the recent past champions of the Cognizant Classic?
These are the champions of the tournament since it moved to PGA National in 2007:
- 2025 Joe Highsmith
- 2024 Austin Eckroat
- 2023 Chris Kirk
- 2022 Sepp Straka
- 2021 Matt Jones
- 2020 Sungjae Im
- 2019 Keith Mitchell
- 2018 Justin Thomas
- 2017 Rickie Fowler
- 2016 Adam Scott
- 2015 Padraig Harrington
- 2014 Russell Henley
- 2013 Michael Thompson
- 2012 Rory McIlroy
- 2011 Rory Sabbatini
- 2010 Camilo Villegas
- 2009 Y.E. Yang
- 2008 Ernie Els
- 2007 Mark Wilson
Highsmith, Eckroat, Straka, Im, Mitchell, Thompson, Yang and Wilson each secured their first career PGA Tour win at the Cognizant Classic.
