Jake Knapp is known as one of the longest and best drivers on the PGA Tour, with the American making quite the impact in his rookie season as he picked up the Mexico Open in February.
That victory guaranteed him starts in all of the PGA Tour’s Signature Events and, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Knapp was steadily going along during his third round at the iconic Bay Hill.
However, after parring his first five holes, the 29-year-old came to the par 5 sixth, one of the most recognizable on the layout. Striking his tee shot, this was the moment that Knapp’s round began to unwind, as he found the water not once, but twice…
“Set yourself 10 minutes aside to watch this” 😬Jake Knapp made a ‼️ 12 ‼️ at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the 6th hole 😅 pic.twitter.com/y4cu9FcONoMarch 9, 2024
Those two water balls were just the start for the American, as his next tee shot, his fifth, couldn’t be found and, after striking a 240-yard seventh to get in play, it would take him a further five strokes to get it in the hole for a septuple bogey 12!
The 12 comes just 24 hours after Tommy Fleetwood’s nightmare at the par 5, with the Englishman carding a quintuple bogey 10 after hitting three balls into the water. What perhaps stung more, was that Fleetwood had found dry land with his tee shot as three approach shots finished in the lake. He would go on to miss the cut.
Following the 12, Knapp would bogey the seventh and eighth for a front nine of 45, which translated to nine-over-par. What’s worse, is that Knapp eagled the sixth on Friday, that translates to a nine shot difference over the two days…
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Although he won’t care too much, it isn’t the highest score recorded on the par 5 sixth. Back at the 1998 Arnold Palmer Invitational, John Daly shot 85 which included an extraordinary 18 on the sixth.
Following the round, a reporter shared that Daly had stated that “the pressure was really on” because he “had one new golf ball left” following the capitulation.
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