An early start to beat the storms meant players were treated to ideal scoring conditions on Saturday at the 2026 Cognizant Classic. While plenty went low and improved their standing, no one did more damage than Shane Lowry, who shot an 8-under 63 to take the lead alone at 13 under going into Sunday’s final round.
Lowry is eying his first solo win anywhere since capturing the 2022 BMW PGA Championship in Europe and first in a PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament since the 2019 Open Championship.
After struggling mightily with the putter on the West Coast, Lowry finally had a breakthrough on the greens on Saturday, gaining more than 2.1 strokes on the field with his putter. He seems much more comfortable back on Bermuda grass in his adopted home state of Florida. A strong putting performance combined with continued excellent ball-striking is the formula for going low, and Lowry was aggressive from the start of his third round, opening with a birdie and adding four more on the front nine to go out in 30.
Lowry added another on the 10th, and then, after a string of pars, closed with a flourish with birdies on the 17th and 18th to post the low round of the day with a bogey-free 63.
“Everything went pretty well, especially early on. I hit the ball in the fairway a lot yesterday, and I missed a few fairways early today, but I holed a few nice putts at the start,” Lowry said. “Then I started hitting the ball really well and giving myself lots of chances and converted a few, and I felt like it was just a really nice, solid round of golf. Birdieing the last two was kind of the icing on the cake.”
While Lowry and plenty of others were going low on Saturday, 36-hole leader Austin Smotherman spent much of his round stuck in the mud. After sleeping on a three-shot lead, Smotherman got off to a fast start with a couple of early birdies, but back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7 derailed his momentum, and he spent most of Saturday just trying to hold on in a scratchy round of golf. However, he found a little something late with back-to-back birdies to close his round like Lowry, moving himself into a tie for the lead with a 69.
Thanks to Smotherman’s minor stumble, the top of the leaderboard is now a crowded place; nine players are within five shots of the leaders. The biggest movers of Saturday were Patton Kizzire, who matched Lowry’s 63 to move into T9 at 8 under, going from on the cut line to the top 10, while Keith Mitchell and Beau Hossler also moved to T9 with matching 64s. Ricky Castillo’s 64 jumped him into sixth at 10 under, as the Florida graduate put himself in contention to pick up his first career win.
That sets up a fascinating final round where the wind is supposed to pick up once again, creating challenging conditions for Lowry and the chase pack. We’ve seen all week how volatile the scoring has been, and depending on when the wind arrives, those who go out earlier in the day could post a number while the leaders battle the elements in the afternoon.
Leaders
1. Shane Lowry, Austin Smotherman (-13): Lowry’s last four starts at the Cognizant Classic have seen him finish 2, T5, T4 and T11. It’s a virtual home game for Lowry, who lives in the area, and it’s clear how comfortable he is on this kind of course. The ball-striking is there, and now that he seems to have some confidence with the putter, he’s looking to pick up his fourth career win on the PGA Tour at a tournament he’s long loved playing in. Sunday will bring a much different challenge in terms of the weather, but you wouldn’t expect stiff winds to bother the Irishman too much, though he also needs his putter to hold up.
As for Smotherman, he would’ve preferred to shoot a 66 and maintain his three-shot advantage going into Sunday, but while he didn’t have his best on Saturday, he can take positives away from the way he closed his round. His putter cooled off, and some loose shots did not exist early in the tournament, but he kept it on the tracks and produced his best golf on the final two holes to stay in a share of the lead for the third straight day. The final round will be a challenge he’s never really encountered playing in the final group with the lead, but perhaps Saturday’s ups and downs can provide him with a bit of comfort knowing what’s to come.
Contenders
T3. Nico Echavarria, Taylor Moore (-12)
5. Jimmy Stanger (-11)
T6. Ricky Castillo, A.J. Ewart (-10)
7. Joel Dahmen (-9)
T9. Beau Hossler, Keith Mitchell, Patton Kizzire (-8)
Echavarria looked poised to go even lower than his 5-under 66, but he had a few solid looks slide by the hole on otherwise good-looking putts. If he continues striking the ball the way he has and the putter warms up just a touch, he will be extremely dangerous on Sunday. Moore was briefly the solo leader before stumbling late like Smotherman, but he, too, found a birdie at the last to stay in touch and give himself a look at a second career win.
Stanger, fresh off a Friday with two hole-out eagles, went about his 65 in a more conventional manner on Saturday, finishing fourth in strokes gained putting to climb into the top 5. Castillo and Ewart are two more youngsters trying to find their first win and will look to be aggressive on Sunday to try and make something happen from two groups behind the leaders.
Then there’s Dahmen, continuing a solid start to his 2026 with a third straight 68 to open his week. With the weather rolling in on Sunday, his steadier play this week could put him in contention if the more aggressive leaders struggle in tougher conditions. Dahmen is one of the many players in the field this week looking to solidify their place on the PGa Tour after just missing out on keeping a full Tour card last year. He seems to be taking a more patient approach this season that has him poised for a second top-10 finish in four starts.
Updated 2026 Cognizant Classic odds, picks
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
- Shane Lowry (+145)
- Austin Smotherman (4-1)
- Nico Echavarria (+490)
- Taylor Moore (6-1)
- Ricky Castillo (20-1)
- Jimmy Stanger (20-1)
Lowry and Echavarria were the picks after Round 2, and nothing about the way Moving Day transpired changes those projections, though the value on Lowry is largely gone. Smotherman finished well, but his putter may not hold up on Sunday. There’s a chance someone from a bit further back can make a run, given the conditions we’ll see in the final round, and perhaps Dahmen (50-1) can present value by putting together another rock-solid round of golf and see some others stumble in tougher conditions.
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