When Jake Knapp texts his grandfather, as he does after every round, he can report that he did it, holding on to win his first PGA Tour title at the Mexico Open at Vidanta at Vallarta, Mexico.
It wasn’t always pretty in the final round on Sunday at Vidanta Vallarta as Knapp closed with an even-par 71 for a two-stroke victory over Sami Valimaki.
Knapp’s grandfather, Gordon Sydney Frederick Bowley, died of cancer last year and Knapp and his cousin both got matching tattoos with the initials GSFB on his left bicep so that it would be visible during his swing. Asked what his grandfather would think of his victory, Knapp said, “He would be pumped. He’d probably say, ‘Yo, dude, good playing. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.’ So, Papa, thank you.”
Knapp appeared to put a sleeper hold on the tournament in the third round with birdies on seven of his first nine holes on Saturday en route to shooting 63 and grabbing a four-stroke lead entering the final round.
But Sundays are payday and Knapp, a 29-year-old rookie who played his college golf at UCLA, had never held the lead on the Tour let alone the Korn Ferry Tour, where he graduated from last season. Knapp is a late bloomer, having turned pro in 2016 but lost Korn Ferry Tour status in 2021 and was mired outside the top thousand in the world as recently as May of 2022 (No. 1476). Two years ago, he was out of money and worked as a bouncer for eight months at a restaurant/bar in his hometown of Costa Mesa, and also did a stint as security at weddings, which is where he met his sports psychologist. He was making just his ninth career Tour start and fifth this season, which included a T-3 at the Farmers Insurance Open last month.
The final round turned into a two-man race between a pair of rookies and fellow hockey fans seeking their first Tour title. Knapp sports the logo of the Anaheim Ducks on his shirt while Finland’s Sami Valimaki has a cousin, Juuso, who is a defenseman for the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes, and when asked to describe his skating skills, claimed, “I think still better than him.”
On Sunday, Knapp struggled off the tee, including hitting his drive into the water at the third, leading to his second bogey in his first three holes. After shooting 28 on the front nine on Saturday, he shot eight strokes higher a day later. When Valimaki, 25 and already a two-time winner on the DP World Tour, drove the seventh green to 6 feet and rolled in the eagle putt, Knapp’s overnight advantage,…
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