Palm Beach Gardens, FL – Nico Echavarria has won the 2026 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. This marks his third career PGA Tour win and his first since the 2024 Zozo Championship. It also earned him $1.728 million in prize money, and skyrockets him into sixth place for the season-long FedEx Cup points standings.
It seemed like it was Shane Lowry’s tournament to lose. He looked completely in control with a three-shot lead heading into the 16th hole, but in a shocking twist, he utterly collapsed. For the first time in his PGA Tour career, he carded back-to-back double bogies on holes 16 and 17. Both doubles resulted from wide-right misses on his tee shots, which each found different water hazards. He was also the only player who doubled both of those holes all week long.
Unfortunately for Lowry, this is becoming a trend. Despite being a major winner and having earned multiple PGA Tour wins, he struggles to finish. Today marks the 5th time he’s failed to convert a 54-hole lead into a win on the Tour. He would ultimately finish in a tie for second at 15-under par with Austin Smotherman and Taylor Moore.
For Echavarria’s part, he was confident and finished the tournament strong. He was bogey-free on his final 36 holes. Echavarria nearly found the water on the 17th like Lowry, laughing to himself as he barely carried the hazard. However, with a strong fist pump, he sank the 10-foot birdie putt, which ultimately helped him to a two-stroke win at 17-under par for the tournament.
One other notable to keep an eye on was Brooks Koepka. After playing the last few years for LIV Golf, Koepka had a solid showing this week, highlighted by a 65 in his final round. With a total score of 10-under par, he secured his first top 10 finish on the PGA Tour since he won the 2023 PGA Championship, and his first top 10 finish that wasn’t a major since the 2022 Waste Management Open.
Next week, the Florida swing on Tour continues as a $20 million purse will be up for grabs at the Arnold Palmer Invitational pres. by Mastercard at Bay Hill. Last year’s winner, Russell Henley, will undoubtedly be looking to defend his title and earn the $4 million for first place. At the same time, the Puerto Rico Open will also be held at the Grand Reserve Golf Club.
Nico Echavarria’s What’s In The Bag:
Driver: Srixon ZXi Prototype (9°) / Mitsubishi Diamana BB 73 TX
3 Wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15°) / Project X HZRDUS Smoke Red RDX 70 TX
5 Wood: PXG Lightning (18°) / Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green 80 TX
Irons: Srixon ZXi5 (4, 5), Srixon ZXi7 (6-PW) / Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 125
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50°, 54°, 60°) / Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 125 (50°), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (54°, 60°)
Putter: Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K Seven
Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond
- The 2026 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches Recap - March 1, 2026
- The 2026 Waste Management Phoenix Open Recap - February 8, 2026
- The 2026 Sony Open Recap - January 18, 2026
