The round included a dramatic finish in which Nico Echavarria overcame a three-shot deficit to Shane Lowry with three holes remaining to win by two shots.
The final-round drama at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches resulted in strong television ratings, and it could not have come at a better time.
The tournament had its most watched final round since 2022, averaging 2.6 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.
The round included a dramatic finish in which Nico Echavarria overcame a three-shot deficit to Shane Lowry with three holes remaining to win by two shots. Echavarria shot a 66 Sunday to overtake Lowry and finish with a 17-under 267.
Lowery (69) finished the final three holes in 4-over with double-bogeys at the par-4 16th and par-3 17th, putting his tee shot in the water on both holes. He had a four-round total of 15-under.
With the victory, Echavarria qualified for this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational field as part of the Aon Next 10.
The tournament was in need of some good news considering its future could be at stake with the PGA Tour expected to make changes to future schedules, some of which could be significant. Cognizant is one tournament some believe could be eliminated because of weak fields and declining attendance in recent years, a product due to the Tour giving the event a very unfavorable spot in the schedule.
This year's field did not include one golfer inside the top 25 in the world. It had the worst ranking according to the Official World Golf Ranking, with 213.1 points, by far the lowest ranking of the seven PGA Tour events played this year, two of which were signature events.
The event was played after two consecutive Signature events at Pebble Beach and Riviera, and before another Signature event (Arnold Palmer Invitational) and The Players.
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cognizant Classic 2026 final-round TV ratings best in four years
Category: General Sports
