PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Joe Highsmith won his maiden PGA Tour title at the Cognizant Classic on Sunday, the first player since Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open to make the cut on the number and win.

People watching at home, though, might not have realized who was carrying his bag. 

Joe LaCava Jr. 

Yes, the son of Tiger Woods’s former caddie and Patrick Cantlay’s current looper. 

How did this partnership come about? 

They met two years ago on the Korn Ferry Tour. LaCava Jr. was looping out there, and Highsmith was chasing his PGA Tour dreams. LaCava Jr. knows Fred Couples well, as his father was his longtime caddie, including when Couples won the 1992 Masters. Highsmith knows Couples, too, and the Hall of Famer told LaCava Jr. to “watch out” for Highsmith because he’s a “hell of a player.”

“So we hung out a little bit,” LaCava Jr. told Sports Illustrated on PGA National’s putting green following the win. “We stayed together actually a couple of times, probably me, three other caddies, so that was a lot of fun, so we got to know each other well there.”

After last year’s Korn Ferry Tour season, LaCava Jr. knew Highsmith was looking for a caddie, so he took a shot in the dark and sent him a text, and LaCava Jr. carried Highsmith’s bag during the Tour’s Fall series. 

Then, ahead of Highsmith’s season opener in Hawaii, LaCava Jr. got the call he was looking for—they were going to battle the 2025 season together. 

“I had had a really bad year throughout the regular season,” Highsmith said of his 2024 rookie year in which he had three top 10s in 26 starts, “and I was like, ‘why not?’ And I really like Joe a lot, obviously, and kind of brought him in and then started playing well. It was a really easy transition.”

Highsmith’s momentum from the fall didn’t immediately carry over into 2025. In five starts to open the season, he had three missed cuts and a T66; though a T17 last week in Mexico set the tone entering the Florida Swing, with LaCava Jr. helping Highsmith turn the corner. 

“He’s a great caddie,” said Highsmith, who moved from No. 170 to 59 in the world. “He’s really good at what he does, but he’s also just one of the boys, and we have a pretty good time out there, and he just keeps it light.”

LaCava Jr. got into caddying because, well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, even though the Connecticut native explored other pastures. 

“I’ve always seen my dad kind of as a role model,” LaCava Jr. says, “so I’ve always thought that that’s kind of what I wanted to do.

“Obviously, I went to college for four years, got my degree. I was kind of in between if I was gonna go sell insurance or if I was gonna caddie.

“So I club caddied at Winged Foot (in Westchester County, New York) for two years and I think just being out there, I kind of realized that this is probably what I want to do and I was kind of gonna give it a shot.”

Now, LaCava Jr. can say he was on the bag for a PGA Tour win. However, he doesn’t consider it his win, as Highsmith was technically the one hitting the shots. 

But Highsmith doesn’t think he could have lifted the trophy without LaCava Jr. by his side. 

“Obviously, with high pressure out there, being able to have him kind of keeping me relaxed and whatever, it feels like you’re just out there walking with one of your friends,” said the 24-year-old, who shot a final-round 64 for a two-stroke victory at 19 under. “And that part has been great, but then also staying focused on the process and whatnot, he’s been great. Yeah, so he’s been awesome.”