What Bear Trap? Jake Knapp dismantled the Champion Course at PGA National in the first round of the 2025 Cognizant Classic en route to a 12-under 59. Representing the 15th sub-60 round in the history of the PGA Tour, Knapp’s performance marks the first ever to take place in the state of Florida and the first of the 2025 season.
Knapp holds a four-stroke lead in the early stages of the Cognizant Classic as the morning wave finishes up the first round at PGA National. His 59 could have been even better as the smooth-swinging right hander was unable to convert an 18-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th to shoot 58 and tie the PGA Tour’s all-time scoring record as held by Jim Furyk.
At 12 under, Knapp sits at a number that would have been good enough for a playoff in 12 of the last 14 playings of the Cognizant Classic. Whether he can build upon it over the next 54 holes remains to be seen.
“I wasn’t thinking about it,” Knapp said after the round. “I was just trying to make birdie because I hit a good shot. I thought about the number, and you think about 59, but it’s like I’ll still think tonight about how it should have been 58 or 57 or 56.
“Fifty-nine is great, but you always could technically do better, but it could always be worse. It wasn’t too worried about breathing room. If I got to 18 and I was already at 12-under par, I was going to play the hole the exact same way. Yeah, I felt like I wanted to make it just because I wanted to make it, to be honest.”
After beginning his day with five straight birdies, Knapp signed for three straight pars — the longest streak of his morning. He got back on the birdie train around the turn with another circle on his scorecard on No. 9 to play his front nine in 29. Two more birdies came on Nos. 10-11 to put the thought of a sub-60 round into everyone’s minds.
Respective conversions from 12 feet and 6 feet came on Nos. 13-14 as Knapp entered the Bear Trap needing to play his final four holes in 2 under. A long-distance effort from 34 feet on the par-3 15th — his longest of the round — gave him plenty of breathing room amid an otherwise suffocating stretch of the golf course.
A pair of pars preceded Knapp’s walk to the 18th tee where he laced one of the best drives of his round on the par-5 finisher. Striking a 6 iron to inside 20 feet, the PGA Tour sophomore strolled to the green knowing a sub-60 round was all but his. While the eagle did not land, Knapp brushed in his birdie to secure his place among one of the most exclusive clubs on the PGA Tour.
“I think you start thinking about it too much, you’re just going to add pressure to something that’s very unnecessary,” Knapp said. “At the same time, if it was Sunday and the tournament was coming down to the line, it might be different. But at the same time, it’s Thursday morning, and I’m doing my best to just put myself in position going into the weekend. Tried to just focus on the shot at hand and trust what I was doing all day.”
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