It wasn’t easy, nor was it pretty, but Jake Knapp held his game together after a couple early hiccups and used a nervy short game to secure his first PGA Tour win at the Mexico Open at Vidanta.
A rookie on the tour playing just his fifth event of the season, Knapp had Sunday experience, having finished tied for third place in the Farmers Insurance Open in January. He needed to lean on that Sunday as his 9-degree Ping G425 LST driver, while long (he ranked second for the week in driving distance at 322.6 yards) was not accurate, as he hit just two fairways in the final round.
Knapp more than compensated for that with an approach game that had him ranked first in strokes gained/approach the green, gaining nearly nine shots on the field and fifth in greens in regulation.
Knapp uses a split set of PXG irons with the 5- through 9-iron the company’s 0211 ST irons, a triple-forged, solid-body design aimed at elite players seeking consistency. As good as Knapp’s iron play was for the week, however, it was his short game on Sunday that proved the difference.
Hitting just nine greens, Knapp went seven for nine scrambling in the final round, including a perfect five for five over the final nine holes. That doesn’t include a key up-and-down from early in the round, either. After a pair of early bogeys tightened things up, Knapp righted his card at the short par-4 seventh with a bunker blast from 84 feet to within three feet for a round-changing birdie.
Most of those saves were made with a Titleist Vokey SM9 WedgeWorks 60T lob wedge. The T grind—inspired by Bob Vokey’s work with Tom Pernice, Jr.—is a popular option among tour players with Cameron Smith, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Webb Simpson, Will Zalatoris and Cameron Young among those who often utilize the T grind in their lob wedges.
It’s a stretch to say Knapp is on that kind of career trajectory, but so far in his rookie season he’s showing he has that kind of game.
What Jake Knapp had in the bag at the 2024 Mexico Open at Vidanta
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot
Driver: Ping G425 LST (Project X Hzrdus T1100 Green TX), 9 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver, 13.5 degrees
Irons (2): Srixon ZU 85; (4): PXG 0311 X Gen4; (5-PW): PXG 0211 ST
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy 2 (50 degrees); Titleist Vokey SM9 (56 degrees); Titleist Vokey SM9 WedgeWorks (60 degrees)
Putter: TaylorMade Rossa Itsy Bitsy Spider
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
