Winning the PGA Tour offers incredible perks. You will receive a 7-digit check and guarantee play status for another 2 years.
Perhaps more importantly, PGA Tour winners have received invitations to the Augusta National and PGA Championship. This is an important stepping stone for first-time champions. Certification for a major is not an easy task. He is ranked 110th in the FedEx Cup Fall, especially for young players like Joe High Smith, who finished the past year. He didn't even have an exemption from a signature event, let alone four majors.
But it all changed to Sunday. Thanks to his victory at Cognizant Classic, Highsmith receives an invitation from The Green Jackets.
“Did you say Master?” Highsmith said at a later press conference.
“That's one. Augusta National is a place that really special in my heart. I've only been there a few times as an audience, but fortunately I was able to play with a few members last year.
“It's like the most incredible place on the planet. I went to tournaments as an audience last year. But playing in that tournament is very special and obviously, you're working towards your lifetime, but you never really know when you're going to get that chance. It's pretty sweet to come right away.”
Highsmith joins 14 other experts who make them Masters debut in 2025. Another of those players happened to be Brian Campbell, who, like Highsmith, won his first final week in Mexico.
Thomas Detley also won his first PGA Tour event at the WM Phoenix Open in February, changing the trajectory of his career. Perhaps Detley will continue to find his way with the European Ryder Cup team this fall.
All three of these players will have access to the final five signature events of the season, including the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill this week. But as Highsmith explained, plays at the Masters rank more than anything else.
“It's a great advantage to play about how much money and points you can play in those high events. Fortunately, I was able to join them for the rest of the year and hopefully I can play well,” Highsmith added.
“But I think it's great to go out and play with some of those guys. A lot of people – the best player in the world, I'm not really – especially last year and even this year, I don't play in the same event as them. It's pretty fun to compete and see how I stack up with some of them. Just getting that schedule is really ideal. Many other things that come with victory are pretty special. But certainly Augusta is far the best.”
Jack Mirco is a golf staff writer who plays SB Nation. Follow him with x @jack_milko.
