Highsmith's victory at Cognizant, in which he carded back-to-back 64s in the final two rounds to set a tournament record, comes with its privileges.

Joe Highsmith had to make a nervy par putt just to make the cut in the Cognizant Classic. Two days later the lefty from Washington state had the lowest weekend score at PGA National and is headed to the Masters.

Riding a career-defining weekend performance and benefiting from his rivals' timely stumbles, Highsmith accomplished something truly remarkable—becoming the first PGA Tour player since Brandt Snedeker in 2016 to make the cut on the number then surge all the way to victory,