It is a form of dream limit for professional golfers – to go under 60 strokes in a round during a competition. Jake Knapp is the latest on the PGA tour to know how it feels.
When he rolled in a birdie on the 18th hole at PGA National Resort (par 71) in Palm Beach Gardens, the 30-year-old got to sign for 59 strokes total. This meant twelve strokes under par for the day and an early lead, which will likely be difficult for competitors to beat during Thursday's first round.
It was just one of those days when everything worked, says Knapp, who is ranked 99th in the world and who last year won a competition during his debut season on the tour.
After the first nine holes, it looked like Jesper Svensson – who is making his first season on the US tour – would be able to challenge Knapp.
The Swede was, just like the American, six strokes under par after the first nine holes. After twelve holes, Svensson was eight strokes under par, but on hole 15 (par 3) he got a double bogey.
The 28-year-old bounced back immediately with a birdie on the following hole and eventually came in at 64 strokes, which is seven under par. With that, he is currently tied for fifth place.
Tim Widing and Vincent Norrman are both –3 after the first round. Henrik Norlander has just started his round.
The record on the PGA tour is held by Jim Furyk, USA, who in 2016 went a competition round in 58 strokes. Furyk has once in his career also managed a 59-round. In total, 14 different male players have now managed to go under 60 strokes on the PGA tour.
The competition is ongoing.
