Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. – Austin Smotherman maintained his lead at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches on Friday, carding a two-under 69 to reach 11 under par three strokes ahead of the competition as the tournament prepares for an earlier-than-scheduled start to Saturday’s third round due to anticipated inclement weather.
Smotherman, a 31-year-old Southern Methodist University alum, opened the tournament with a remarkable nine-under 62 on Thursday. His second-round performance, while not as explosive, solidified his position atop the leaderboard. His best previous PGA Tour finish was a tie for fifth at the 2023 Mexico Open at Vidanta, a result he now has the opportunity to surpass.
Taylor Moore sits in second place at eight under, while A.J. Ewart and Nico Echavarria are tied for third at seven under. Joel Dahmen rounds out the top five, one stroke further back at six under.
Saturday’s final grouping will feature Smotherman, Moore, and Ewart, teeing off at 9:40 a.m. ET. Golf Channel will broadcast the third round from 10 a.m. To 3 p.m. ET. PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ will offer exclusive early streaming coverage beginning at 7:45 a.m. ET, including featured group and featured hole coverage.
The course at PGA National is playing softer than in recent years due to overseeding, a process where rye grass is added to the Bermuda grass. This change has resulted in greener fairways and a less daunting playing surface, according to players and observers. Mark Wilson won the tournament’s first year on the course with a score of 5 under, and recent winning scores have steadily increased, reaching 19 under in 2023.
Smotherman’s opening 62 placed him among an elite group of players to have shot 62 or better at PGA National during this event. Jake Knapp holds the record with a 59 in the first round of the 2025 tournament. Others to achieve the feat include Matt Jones, Brian Harman, Chris Kirk, Brandon Hagy, and Tiger Woods.
Saturday’s tee times are as follows (all times ET):
Tee No. 1
7:28 a.m. – Zecheng Dou, Matthieu Pavon, Max McGreevy
7:40 a.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Chan Kim, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
7:52 a.m. – Ryan Gerard, Brooks Koepka, Ben Silverman
8:04 a.m. – Steven Fisk, Ricky Castillo, Eric Cole
8:16 a.m. – Max Homa, Thorbjorn Olesen, Kevin Streelman
8:28 a.m. – Matti Schmid, Takumi Kanaya, Kevin Roy
8:40 a.m. – Seamus Power, Chad Ramey, Carson Young
8:52 a.m. – William Mouw, Michael Brennan, Daniel Berger
9:04 a.m. – Aaron Rai, Shane Lowry, Jimmy Stanger
9:16 a.m. – Kristoffer Reitan, Pontus Nyholm, Hank Lebioda
9:28 a.m. – Nico Echavarria, Joel Dahmen, Mark Hubbard
9:40 a.m. – Austin Smotherman, Taylor Moore, A.J. Ewart
Tee No. 10
7:28 a.m. – Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Alex Smalley, Danny Walker
7:40 a.m. – Rasmus Hojgaard, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Dan Brown
7:52 a.m. – John Parry, Austin Eckroat, Beau Hossler
8:04 a.m. – Lee Hodges, Matt Wallace, Keith Mitchell
8:16 a.m. – Davis Thompson, Jackson Suber, Adrien Saddier
8:28 a.m. – Patrick Fishburn, Zach Bauchou, Dylan Wu
8:40 a.m. – Emiliano Grillo, Adam Schenk, Chandler Phillips
8:52 a.m. – Tom Kim, Patton Kizzire, Haotong Li
9:04 a.m. – David Ford, Billy Horschel, Garrick Higgo
9:16 a.m. – Joe Highsmith, Nicolai Hojgaard
9:28 a.m. – Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Jordan Smith
