Jake Knapp: Former bouncer wins first PGA Tour title on ninth start
- Published
Knapp was playing in only his ninth PGA Tour event
Mexico Open final leaderboard |
|---|
-19 J Knapp (US); -17 S Valimaki (Fin); -14 S Jaeger (Ger) C Pan (Tpe), J Lower (US) |
Selected others: -13 R MacIntyre (Sco); -10 A Rai (Eng); -8 M Wallace (Eng), H Hall (Eng) |
Former nightclub bouncer Jake Knapp won a first PGA Tour event on only his ninth start as he took the Mexico Open by two shots.
Knapp, 29, went into the final day four shots clear and saw his lead wiped out over the first seven holes.
But he rallied on the back nine with his round of 71 enough to finish on 19 under, with Finland's Sami Valimaki closest on 17 under.
"Didn't necessarily have my best stuff today, that's for sure," Knapp said.
"Knew it was going to be nerve-wracking. Knew it was going to be tough," the American rookie added.
"But I was super pumped on how I played the finishing stretch."
The win comes just three years after Knapp failed to win a tour card and took a bar job at a restaurant which turned into a nightclub in the evenings.
"They needed a security guy and I was like, 'I don't know if I'm big enough, but I can stand there and look tough'," he said.
Scotland's Robert MacIntyre was part of the chasing pack and finished six shots behind Knapp, while England's Matt Wallace went from sharing the half-way lead with Knapp and Valimaki to ending on eight under par overall.