Knapp responds to the cheers of fans.
Jake Knapp (USA), who dreamed of becoming a PGA Tour champion while working as a security guard at a nightclub and wedding hall, reached the top of the PGA Tour in his 9th attempt.
Knapp shot an even par 71 strokes in the final round of the PGA Tour Mexico Open (total prize money of $8.1 million) held at the Vidanta Vallarta Golf Course (par 71) in Vallarta, Mexico on the 26th (Korean time). He won with 19 under par 265.
Knapp, who beat Sami Valimaki (Finland) by two strokes, enjoyed the thrill of winning for the first time in his life.
Knapp, who debuted on the PGA Tour this year, is making his 9th PGA Tour appearance, but this is his 5th appearance this year alone as a PGA Tour member.
In the previous eight appearances, he missed the cut four times.This year, he passed the cut three times, and his highest ranking was a tie for third place at the Farmers Insurance Open last January.
Dreaming of advancing to the PGA Tour, he honed his skills on the Canada Tour and Korn Ferry Tour. In 2022, he played golf during the day and worked as a nightclub security guard at night.He also worked as a wedding hall security guard.
Knapp advanced to this year’s PGA Tour by ranking 13th in Korn Ferry Tour points last year.
A more valuable reward to him than the winning prize of $1.458 million (about 1.94 billion won) is a two-year PGA Tour card and the right to participate in the remaining specially designated tournaments this season.He was also able to participate in the Masters.
After confirming his victory, Knapp was happy and hugged his girlfriend who was waiting on the 18th hole green.
Knapp played with the initials of his grandfather, who passed away last year, tattooed on his forearm.
He revealed that he promised to dedicate his PGA Tour championship trophy to his maternal grandfather, who had the greatest influence on him growing up as a golfer.
Knapp, who entered the final round with a 4-stroke lead, fell back with bogeys on the 1st and 3rd holes, and was only able to make one birdie until the 12th hole, giving him a tie for the lead with Ballymaki.
The game was decided at the 13th hole (par 3).
Knapp had a birdie and Valimaki had a bogey.
Knapp, who ran away to a two-stroke lead, maintained his lead until the end.
Valimaki, who was aiming to become the first Finnish person to win the PGA Tour, had to be satisfied with second place after reducing two strokes.
Kim Chan, a Korean-American, tied for 8th place (12 under par, 272 strokes) and entered the top 10 for the first time this season.
Last year’s winner, Tommy Finau (USA), tied for 13th place (11 under par, 273 strokes). 스포츠토토