SAN DIEGO — There’s a generation of young PGA Tour players who have memories of Tiger Woods’ best golf when they were still watching SpongeBob while their parents took pictures with flip phones. Jake Knapp, now 30, qualifies for that group and has a story better than most.
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Growing up in Southern California’s Orange County, Knapp’s family made the trip a few times down south to the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad to watch Woods play in the WGC-Accenture Match Play. Jake’s first memory there comes from 2006, when he was 10 years old and on hand for Tiger’s infamous 9-and-8 rout of Stephen Ames. A one-time tour winner at the time, Ames a few years earlier had called Tiger “spoiled” and said, “Tiger’s coming across bigger than the game.” Woods didn’t forget, and after smoking the Canadian in just 10 holes, he said with a tone of vengeance, “There certainly was [motivation]. Stephen provided it. I think I did all right today. I think he understands now.”
Jake got more than a fun memory that day. After the match, during which Knapp hounded Woods and caddie Steve Williams for a sounvenir, Williams emerged from the locker room and tossed the kid a golf ball—one that he says he still has today on a shelf at home. “It’s really the only piece of sports memorabilia that I have that I really cherish,” Knapp told Golfweek last year.
Life’s twists can be strange and wondrous, and the Woods-Knapp connection lives on, 19 years later. Knapp got into the Woods-hosted Genesis Invitational this week at Torrey Pines as the first alternate after Tiger withdrew from the field on Monday, saying he was still processing the death of his mother, Kultida. “I’m just not ready,” he said in announcing his decision.
That is a solemn reason for anyone getting a spot in a PGA Tour event, but it became an enormous opportunity for Knapp. This is a $20 million signature event with a first prize of $4 million and loads of FedEx Cup points. In being moved to Torrey Pines from Riviera because of the L.A. fires, the tournament is being played on the tour course most familiar to Knapp, who played many rounds here as a kid while competing in the Junior World Championships.
“This place has always been special in my heart,” Knapp said.
Last year, as a tour rookie, Knapp finished T-3 in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, and he put himself into an early contending position again on Thursday in the Genesis by shooting one-under-par 71 in cold and rainy conditions on the stout South Course to stand tied for seventh.
Jake Knapp hits his drive on the fifth tee during the first round of the Genesis Invitational.
Harry How
“I feel like I kind of know what to expect on a course like this. And I know what you need to be doing well,” Knapp said after a round of two birdies and one bogey. “I wasn’t expecting necessarily to get in, but at the same time, I was prepared if I did. I’m glad I was able to.”
Knapp was the first alternate for the Genesis because of his ranking in the 2024 FedEx Cup Fall points list. He finished 64th in those standings, only 13 points ahead of Min Woo Lee, who got into this field with the final sponsor’s exemption. The next player behind Knapp, Beau Hossler, a fellow Orange County native, finished only 28 points behind in the FedEx Fall. Those are the slightest of margins for getting into a tournament with so many rewards.
Knapp was at home in Arizona on Monday after a T-44 in the WM Phoenix Open when he got the call that he was in the Genesis. He flew to San Diego on Tuesday, got in 12 practice holes and took a bit of rest before Thursday.
“I was approaching it as a positive on both ends,” Knapp said. “You know, I could probably use a week at home to practice [after five starts already this year]. I feel like my game’s been really close and trending the right way. But if I ended up not getting in this week and having a week off, a week at home wouldn’t be the worst thing for my mental game and physical game. But at the same time, I knew if I got in it would be a good course for me. And I knew the setup would be nice.”
Knapp played in the difficult conditions Torrey Pines offered for the Farmers Open in late January, when he tied for 32nd amid dry Santa Ana winds. The test is very different this week, with Thursday bringing wind, rain, wet rough and soft greens that caused balls to stuck back up to 30 feet at times.
Course knowledge helped but so did showing some grit.
“I’ve played [Torrey Pines] in cold and windy and definitely some wet, but not like today when the rough is as nasty as it is,” Knapp said.
“It’s a tough golf course and you just have to drive it well. The greens are bouncy and tricky at times, so you have to be able to mentally deal with that.”
The top-three finish for Knapp at Torrey Pines last year was exactly what he needed to make him feel he belonged. Along with his fellow rookies, there were concerns about how many starts they would get in the signature-event era. But Knapp followed the script the tour had touted about young prospects being able to rise up: Two weeks after the Farmers, he won the Mexico Open and backed that up in his next start with a T-4 in the Cognizant Classic.
Knapp’s year was set, and he finished 59th in the FedEx Cup. He further added to the enjoyment of the season in teaming up with fellow UCLA product Patty Tavatanakit to win the unofficial Grant Thornton Invitational in mid-December.
“Compared to last year, I think it was just a lot to take in and everything kind of happened so quick from getting my tour card and all that stuff,” Knapp said. “It just took some some time to just adjust and get used to it
“I feel like I’m a lot more at home and comfortable with where I’m at playing in PGA Tour events and elevated events. I don’t feel like I get nervous or antsy or anything like that.”
No reason to be nervous this week. He’s playing with house money.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
