PALM BEACH GARDENS — There was a time – and not very long ago – when the Champion Course was one of the most feared among the non-major layouts on the PGA Tour.
Like everything else in golf lately, times have changed.
Second-year pro Jake Knapp became the 14th person (and 15th of all time) to shoot golf’s magical number – a 59 – when he tapped in for his 12th birdie of the first round of the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches on the par-5 finishing hole at PGA National.
A 59? On the par-71 Champ? What turned the Bear Trap into the Teddy Bear Trap? (Holes 15 through 17 each played under par in the morning.)
Used to be anything under par would be cause for celebration on the Jack Nicklaus-redesigned course. Not Thursday. Not with the wind a zephyr, the greens as welcoming as grandparents and an over-seed that made the Bermuda grass predictable.
“I knew I was hitting it well, so tried to just birdie everything today,” said Knapp, who bettered the tournament record of 61 shared by Brian Harman and 2021 champ Matt Jones to build a 4-shot lead.
More: PGA Tour Cognizant Classic: Billy Horschel chases alligator off PGA National course
Knapp wasn’t the only one taking that aggressive approach with his approaches. Three players shot 63 in the morning – Jupiter’s Daniel Berger, 2014 champ Russell Henley and Sami Valamaki (who finished second in Knapp’s only win in Mexico last year). Four others, Jupiter’s Rickie Fowler, Samuel Ryder, Davis Riley and Jesper Svensson, had 64s. Three-time major champion Jordan Spieth shot 65, tying Harman, Michael Kim, Joe Highsmith and Charley Hoffman for ninth place.
It was professional golf’s version of limbo – how low can you go?
In an opposite way, it was a perfect storm of events – no wind, soft greens and little Bermuda rough – that had the leaderboards dripping with red numbers all day.
Daniel Berger: ‘Not the old Bear Trap that we’re used to’
“Clearly the course was not the old Bear Trap that we’re used to,” said Berger, who overcame a lost ball on his first swing, the ball sticking in a tree, to chip-in for par on the par-5 10th hole. “It’s the over-seed. It’s not Bermuda, it’s not tight. And the greens are perfect and soft. If you’re coming out of the rough, you can still stop the ball on the green, which has never been the case.”
Said Fowler: “It’s a day where you go out and shoot even par or a couple under and you’re kind of kicking yourself in the butt with what’s available out there.”
Spieth was making his first professional start at PGA National, but had watched the carnage on the Champ in years past. When he arrived Tuesday, he saw a different course.
“I didn’t realize that it was overseeded, and the fairways being overseeded changes it a lot because it’ll make the fairways softer which makes them wider, and then around the greens it’s significantly easier than the dormant Bermuda,” Spieth said. “You’re looking at easily a stroke a round on just the change in the grass types in the fairway.”
Cognizant Classic first round produces lowest combined field score
Late in the afternoon, Thursday’s first round had produced the lowest combined field score in the tournament’s 53-year history (68.5), 2½ shots under par. The previous record at PGA National was, oddly, last year’s final round (68.79).
“I’m sure the rules officials are going to see this and they’ll set it up a little tougher the next couple days,” Berger said. “They don’t want to see 59 shot every day.”
Hialeah resident and Florida State junior Luke Clanton shot a 4-under 67, placing him in position to earn his PGA Tour card by making the 36-hole cut Friday.
Knapp set the tone early, opening with five consecutive birdies. After three pars, he added three more birdies, a par and three more birdies to get to 11-under with three holes left. The birdie at the par-5 closing hole seemed a certainly – he had only 200 yards with a 6-iron for his second shot, and easily two-putted for the 59.
Had he made the 19-foot eagle putt, he would have matched Jim Furyk’s all-time tour record of 58 (Furyk also shot a 59). “That last putt was a little quick,” Knapp said, making sure he didn’t lose his spot in 59 history. Now, can he join the five players who shot in the 50s and won that week?
Not every player was thrilled with the low scores. Florida native Billy Horschel battled an alligator during his 66, but he would have preferred the Champ put up a better fight during the first round.
“I really wish we would just play this as a straight Bermuda,” Horschel said. “I know it doesn’t look prettier on TV, and I know that’s one of the reasons why it’s overseeded. It’s just a little disappointing because it’s such a great test of golf. we see a little bit of PGA National because it is fun playing this golf course when it’s tough.”
Times, they keep on changing.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jake Knapp leads Cognizant Classic after first round filled with low scores
Read the full article here