Jake Knapp shoots fifteenth sub-60 spherical in PGA Tour historical past

Jake Knapp knew he was on the verge of one thing particular Thursday after a run of 5 straight birdies to open his spherical on the Cognizant Basic.

By the tip, he had joined one in every of golf’s most elite golf equipment.

Knapp, the No. 99 participant in golf’s world rankings, joined the PGA Tour’s sub-60 membership Thursday, taking pictures a bogey-free 59 within the opening spherical at PGA Nationwide. It was the fifteenth time somebody has damaged 60 in a PGA Tour occasion.

“It is simply a kind of days the place all the pieces was form of clicking,” Knapp mentioned.

He missed an 18-foot, 8-inch eagle alternative at No. 18 that will have tied the tour scoring file of 58, finished by Jim Furyk within the ultimate spherical of the 2016 Vacationers Championship.

When Knapp rolled within the birdie putt, he grew to become the 14th participant to shoot a sub-60 spherical; it has now been finished 15 occasions, with Furyk carding such a spherical twice. Knapp is the sixth participant in PGA Tour historical past to interrupt 60 with out an eagle on the cardboard and the primary since Scottie Scheffler on the Northern Belief in August 2020.

And sure, he was interested by 58, particularly after a protracted birdie putt on the fifteenth put him at 11 below for the spherical.

“I stepped up on the 16 tee and simply form of informed my caddie, ‘Let’s play 2 below within the final three,'” Knapp mentioned. “‘Let’s do what we’re presupposed to do.'”

He needed to accept 59, if a 59 can ever really be settled for.

“I believed I performed properly,” mentioned Daniel Berger, who had a bogey-free spherical of 8-under 63. “However then somebody shot 59.”

The 12-birdie spherical on the par-71 course broke the Cognizant scoring file of 61, first finished in 2012 by Brian Harman and matched in 2021 by Matt Jones. There are three rounds of 62 in event historical past: Tiger Woods within the ultimate spherical in 2012 on his technique to a tie for second, Brandon Hagy within the second spherical in 2021, and eventual winner Chris Kirk within the second spherical of the 2023 occasion.

Of the earlier sub-60 rounds in tour historical past, Knapp’s was solely the fifth within the first spherical of an occasion. Two of these earlier 4 went on to win the event.

There was barely any wind, and PGA Nationwide was largely defenseless within the morning session. The closest there was to any hassle was the seventh gap, the place Billy Horschel — a Florida Gator from his faculty days — used a membership to poke at an precise alligator that was catching some solar close to the inexperienced and obtained it to retreat again to its watery house.

Berger, Russell Henley and Sami Valimaki every shot 63, Rickie Fowler was amongst these with opening-round 64s, Jordan Spieth — persevering with his comeback after wrist surgical procedure — shot 65, whereas Horschel, Zach Johnson and Camilo Villegas have been a few of the gamers who opened with a 66.

However no person had a neater time than Knapp, who completed no higher than a tie for seventeenth in his first seven begins of 2025 after which performed his manner into golf historical past in Spherical 1 at PGA Nationwide, a course that gamers have mentioned has been much less punitive in recent times. He wanted to make solely 98 toes of putts, a tribute to a day of fantastic ball-striking.

“You continue to need to hit photographs. It’s important to make putts,” Fowler mentioned. “Yeah, 59 anyplace is tough to do. I do not care when you go play from 6,500 yards. You continue to need to make putts. You continue to need to hit it shut sufficient to have these alternatives. With this place, we have seen some low scores, guys get after it when the situations are proper. However clearly nobody has shot 59 earlier than out right here.”

Knapp has one PGA Tour win, eventually 12 months’s Mexico Open as a rookie. He has performed the Cognizant as soon as earlier than and did properly, tying for fourth final 12 months after taking pictures three rounds of 68 or higher and ending at 13 below.

He began Thursday with that run of 5 straight birdies, a stretch highlighted by a 60-foot putt on the par-4 second gap. The birdies stored coming in bunches: three in a row on holes Sep 11, then three extra approaching holes 13-15 — the final of these a giant breaking putt from 31 toes that went throughout the inexperienced earlier than dropping useless middle into the cup.

“You have to tip your hat to him,” Horschel mentioned. “He shot a 12-under-par 59 at PGA Nationwide, which nobody ever thought.”

Horschel and Knapp crossed paths after the spherical. Horschel, providing congratulations, informed Knapp he would have wagered “some huge cash … like, some huge cash” on no person ever taking pictures 59 at PGA Nationwide.

“I really feel like I shot 4 over after seeing what you shot,” Horschel informed Knapp as he walked away.

Mike Stephens, Knapp’s caddie, mentioned they weren’t afraid to speak concerning the probabilities that awaited on the ultimate three holes.

“I believe, if something, possibly your enjoying opponents attempt to provide you with somewhat distance or whatnot, however he likes to speak,” Stephens mentioned. “So we would form of go over issues on the final couple [of holes] to attempt to fill the time. Simply to maintain it the identical. … Simply one other day.”

A 12-footer for birdie on the par-3 seventeenth hit the surface proper fringe of the cup and spun off, leaving Knapp at 11 below with solely the par-5 ending gap left.

A 335-yard tee shot left him 200 yards to the outlet at No. 18, and a easy two-putt was all that remained to cap the history-making spherical.

“Whether or not I shot 89 or 59, I will come again out and do my job tomorrow,” Knapp mentioned.

The Related Press and Discipline Degree Media contributed to this report.