Most golfers hope for a win. Nico Echavarria pretty much saw one coming at PGA National. Or that’s what he said, at least.
When asked about his extraordinary week, the Colombian made clear his plans for the $1.728 million winner’s check he’s taking home.
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“Yeah, a lot of changes. My wife has been working very hard. We had our wedding three months ago. We got married, and she planned the wedding. She planned the honeymoon. She’s been planning the house, building, dealing with different people, the pool, the this and that. So I’m very thankful that she’s been doing that, and I’m able to play golf,” he said.
“This week is always going to be special. We closed on the house on Friday, and we won that week. We got married on the 29th of November, and today — well, it’s March, but technically kind of.”
And if a win, finalizing the purchase of a new house nearby and a Masters’ invitation weren’t enough, the 31-year-old had one more announcement.
“And we’re getting a dog too. I promised after our third win, it was a dog, so happy with that,” he added.
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That level of confidence wasn’t without backing.
He shot rounds of bogey-free golf over the weekend, closing with a 5-under 66 on Sunday to finish at 17-under 267, beating Shane Lowry, Austin Smotherman, and Taylor Moore by two shots. The $1.728 million payday is the biggest of his career, surpassing the roughly $1.5 million he earned for winning the Zozo Championship in Japan in 2024. It also secured him a second Masters invitation, adding even more weight to an already massive week.
However, this win wouldn’t have been possible without a dash of fortuity.
Nico Echavarria was three shots back with three holes to play when Shane Lowry, who held the lead, made back-to-back double bogeys at the par-4 16th and par-3 17th, both from tee shots that drifted into the water. Echavarria then holed a 10-foot birdie putt at 17 to pull level, and with Lowry unable to recover at 18, the Colombian watched from the scoring tent as the title came to him. To top that, he led the field in fewest bogeys (four).
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“I didn’t have my best off the tee, but I was able to manage,” Echavarria told the broadcast. “I had some good breaks. To win out here, sometimes you have to have good breaks if you’re not Scottie Scheffler, that hits it every time in the perfect place. I’m happy with how it went.
Lowry, meanwhile, extended his painful run at PGA National, where he has now finished in the top 11 for five consecutive years without a win.
What makes this win even more significant is the road the Colombian golfer traveled to get there. His 2026 season had been all hustle before this moment. He missed the cut at the Sony Open, The American Express, and the WM Phoenix Open, and was cut again at The Genesis Invitational.
His only bright spot heading into the Cognizant Classic was a tie for eighth at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, where he earned $515,000. That form, combined with four missed cuts, made the 2023 Puerto Rico Open winner’s pre-tournament confidence all the more striking.
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While Nico Echavarria, now a three-time PGA Tour winner, is all smiles after the Cognizant Classic, the same cannot be said for Shane Lowry.
Nico Echavarria celebrates while Lowry suffers
Shane Lowry walked off PGA National gutted.
Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 2024 Shane Lowry IRL on the 18th during Round 3 of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 2024 at St. Andrews Golf Club, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. 05/10/2024. Picture Thos Caffrey / Golffile.ie All photo usage must carry mandatory copyright credit Golffile Thos Caffrey St. Andrews Old course St. Andrews Fife Scotland Copyright: xThosxCaffreyx *EDI*
“I’m obviously extremely disappointed. I had the tournament in my hands, and I threw it away. That’s twice this year so far, so I’m getting good at it.”
He added that his four-year-old daughter was watching him play, making the defeat hit even harder.
His collapse was technical, not mental. At 16, a wayward long iron found the water, leading to a double bogey after four shots and a bunker blast from an awkward stance. At 17, another iron went short and right, another double. A 30-yard bunker shot at 18 slid past, and it was over.
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Even Austin Smotherman felt bad for him.
“It’s uncharacteristic for Shane, a major champion, but it’s just a testament to what this game is like. You just have to stay in it for 72 holes,” he remarked plainly.
That’s three holes, three errors, a tournament lost!
Well, this was not the first time PGA National broke the 38-year-old’s heart. He lost the lead in a deluge at the 2022 Honda Classic, finished tied for fourth in 2024 after entering the final round solo, and tied for 11th in 2025.
Five years, five near-misses. That’s quite a heartbreak.
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