Jake Knapp has been a top performer at the Cognizant Classic this year (Image: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Jake Knapp has gone from being a nightclub bouncer to a golfing sensation on the , as he wrote his name in the history books on Thursday. The American star, who clinched victory at last year’s Mexican Open in Vidanta, has now carded the first 12-under-59 at the National Resort’s Champion Course during the first round of the 2025 Cognizant Classic.
His impressive round featured an astonishing 12 birdies, six pars and no bogeys to post only the 15th sub-60 score ever recorded on the , giving Knapp a comfortable four-shot lead in the tournament. The 30-year-old had remained cool on the course, and is now on his way to securing the top prize of £1,314,797 ($1,656,000).
After his remarkable performance, Knapp said: “I knew obviously I had it going really early, but at the same time, that can happen and then it can kind of fizzle out pretty quick. I thought I did a good job of just trying to focus on shot by shot and not letting what happened or what could happen affect anything.
“Then once I made the long putt on 15, it was like, okay, now this is kind of here. I didn’t really think about it [on the 18th] to be honest with you. I think you start thinking about it too much, you’re just going to add pressure to something that’s very unnecessary.
“Meanwhile, I’m focusing on Thursday morning and doing my best to position myself for the weekend. I tried to concentrate on the shot at hand and trust what I was doing all day.”
Now, Knapp aims to build on his impressive performance to claim his second PGA Tour victory, having won the Mexico Open in 2024. That win in Vidanta propelled him 49 spots up the world rankings to 52, as the American told reporters that he would “never forget this” milestone in his career.
Just three years ago, Knapp was working as a doorman in Orange County, dealing with drunken brawls and keeping the streets safe – and today, he’s a rising star in golf. Reflecting on his stint as a security guard, Knapp said: “They needed a security guy, and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m big enough, but I can stand there and look tough’.
The American made history on the course (Image: Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
“I’d work Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights and special events, which allowed me to practice until five or six on Friday, and then go to the gym and eat dinner and go straight there, work until 2 or 3 a.m., come straight home, go to sleep, wake up at 10, course at 11, practice until 5, do it again. It made me work a little bit harder and not take golf for granted.”
Cut to 2025, and Knapp is on the brink of a remarkable triumph at the Cognizant Classic, which boasts a prize fund of £7.2m ($9.2m).
In addition to the cash reward, the American could also secure 500 FedEx Cup points, a two-year PGA Tour exemption and a coveted invitation to the 2025 Masters tournament. There’s still plenty of golf to be played – but if Knapp maintains his current stellar performance, he could return to his hometown of Costa Mesa with a significant victory under his belt.