Jake Knapp had to wait for his chance to make it to the PGA Tour.
The Californian turned professional in 2016, and for the next three years played on the PGA Tour Canada. After three wins, he then graduated to the Korn Ferry Tour, where he played for two years, before another stint on the PGA Tour Canada in 2022.
A year later, Knapp had made it back to the Korn Ferry Tour, and this time, he finished 13th on its points list to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2024 season. Alongside him as he earned his card was caddie Mike Stephens, and the two were still working together as Knapp embarked on his rookie PGA Tour season.
To say they made the chance count would be an understatement. In just his third PGA Tour appearance of the season, Knapp finished T3 at the Farmers Insurance Open, and two events later, he had seen off Sami Valimaki for his maiden PGA Tour victory, at the Mexico Open.
Following that win, Stephens spoke to Hometown News, where he admitted the desire to help Knapp get a maiden PGA Tour win had left him on edge. He said: “I was terrified. Missing fairways. I could feel the tension. Fortunately, we were well ahead of third place, and we knew it was going to be first or second at worst. We really wanted the win though.”
Stephens was just 25 when he helped guide Knapp to victory in Mexico, but he appears to be wise beyond his years, at least on the evidence of his approach in guiding Knapp to shooting a 59 at the 2025 Cognizant Classic - just the 15th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history.
Knapp achieved that extraordinary feat during the opening round of the PGA National tournament, but despite the chance of making history opening up before them, Stephens was determined the player would stay in the moment by keeping his routine the same over the closing holes.
He said: “I think if anything, maybe your playing competitors try to give you a little distance or whatnot, but he likes to talk. So, we’d kind of go over things on the last couple (holes), to try to fill the time. Just to keep it the same. ... Just another day.”
That tactic clearly rubbed off on Knapp, who 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."
While Stephens’ work alongside Knapp has played an important part in his rise, he’s also not a bad player. Per a 2024 Golf.com article, which documented the authors’ experience at close quarters with Knapp and his caddie in a pro-am, Stephens was not only "a lot of fun" but “the second-best golfer in the group."
Even if Stephens is no slouch when it comes to playing the game, it is undoubtedly his ability to bring the best out of Knapp where he is making a real name for himself.
