Jake Knapp joined an exclusive club Thursday at PGA National, shooting 59 at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches.
The tournament's opening round South Florida played easier than usual due to soft conditions after early-week rains and a lack of wind. The majority of the field took advantage of what typically is a very stingy course and shot low scores. None, however, were as low as Knapp.
The 30-year-old birdied his first five holes to kick off the round and would get one more birdie on the 9th to make the turn in 29.
Knapp was 11 under as he approached the par-5 18th tee and drove it 335 yards in the middle of the fairway. He then put his second shot to 18 feet, 8 inches and two-putted for birdie, locking in the 59.
12 birdies on the scorecard 💪@KnappTime_LTD records the 15th sub-60 round in PGA TOUR history. pic.twitter.com/ZBXFVdL3AU
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 27, 2025
“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,” Knapp said. “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.”
Knapp’s 12-under score on the par-71 Champion Course is the 14th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history, and the first since last year's John Deere Classic where Hayden Springer also shot 59. It is the Tour’s first sub-60 round in Florida.
Previously, the best round at PGA National was 61, most recently by Brian Harman in the second round of the 2012 Honda Classic.
Knapp, a winner on Tour last year at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, walked off the course with an early four-shot lead over Daniel Berger, who shot 63.
“I think I’ve been trending pretty well, honestly, over the last—just since the start of the season. It’s not like I’ve played really well and then really bad,” Knapp said. “I think it’s just slowly gotten better since the start of the year. I was pretty aware coming into this week that my game is trending in the right way.
“At the same time, it’s just golf. It’s one of those things where you can be hitting it really well and not scoring or you can be hitting it bad and scoring. Just doing my best right now to get the scores down a little bit, but overall feel like I’ve been playing a lot better.”
Sub-60 rounds on the PGA Tour:
Jake Knapp, 59, 2025 Cognizant Classic at the Palm Beaches
Hayden Springer, 59, 2024 John Deere Classic
Cameron Young, 59, 2024 Travelers Championship
Scottie Scheffler, 59, 2020 Northern Trust
Kevin Chappell, 59, 2019 A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier
Brandt Snedeker, 59, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Adam Hadwin, 59, 2017 CareerBuilder Challenge
Justin Thomas, 59, 2017 Sony Open
Jim Furyk, 58, 2016 Travelers Championship
Jim Furyk, 59, 2013 BMW Championship
Stuart Appleby, 59, 2010 Greenbrier Classic
Paul Goydos, 59, 2010 John Deere Classic
David Duval, 59, 1999 Bob Hope Classic
Chip Beck, 59, 1991 Las Vegas Invitational
Al Geiberger, 59, 1977 Memphis Classic
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jake Knapp Shoots Historic 59 at PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic .
