Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (AP)-Jake Knapp survived a wild Saturday in Cognizing Classic and avoided calamity to the 15th par-3 annoying by making a pair of late withks for a 38-68 and an advance at a blow before the final round at the National PGA.
Knapp, who opened the tournament with a 59, started the third round with an advance with a blow and followed three shots when he went around. He put on a birdie 12-foot putt on the 16th and finished with a flea and putt birdie on the closing hole by 5 to stay forward.
“An almost everywhere,” said Knapp, who was 16 years old.
Just behind Michael Kim – and nearly two dozen others.
There was so much movement in this captivating third round that 10 players had at least a share of the advance at one point. Some of them were canceled by the 15th, playing 163 yards on the water framed by a rocky wall.
Taylor Montgomery, who had six birdies out of the first nine and was the first player to reach 15 sous, had an advance at one time when he pumped two kicks in the danger of 15. The first was an online driving which almost hit an alligator in the water. The second in the fall area has returned to the crevasse of a rock. He increased to a quadruple-bogey 7.
“You left your mind in this match for a second, and it can bite you,” said Montgomery, who joined two birdies on the following three holes to save 68. He had three delays.
Jesper SVENSSON of Sweden, who obtained a PGA Tour card through the European tour last year, was tied for the head when he caught too much ball of a bunker behind the 15th green and he sailed in the water. He made Triple Bogey and struck his journey in the water on the 18th. Tied for the head with four to play, he finished six behind.
Another victim was Kim, although he had a fortune on this side. He had an advance with a blow to the 15th when his tee shot on the rocks, fired hard on the right and headed towards the water when he landed gently in the mud.
Most of the golf ball showed, so he removed his shoe and his right sock and exploded out of the mud and on the green about 25 feet. He has two shots for his first bogey of the tournament. It could have worse – and more in disorder.
“I’m not as wet as I thought,” he said, although his face has mud spots.
Knapp made his mistakes on the first nine, especially with his iron game and his short match, but he stabilized in the section while so many others struggled.
This leaves a final round responsible for possibilities on a course which has become firmer, in particular green, because the week continues in many sun.
“It’s just much less pins hunting. These are a little more conservative targets and you have to be a little more composed with a distance control and a shooting form and things like that because if you do not do it, you will find yourself in a bunker or a water or a place where you do not want to be,” said Knapp.
Russell Henley and Ben Griffin each had 66, and Doug Ghim had 68 to end the crazy day only two shots behind. Montgomery and Rickie Fowler (68) were three late, followed by a group from another move which included Joe Highsmith and Max McGreevy, who each signed for a 64 even before the leaders feel.
Twenty-two players were less than five head shots, a group that includes Jordan Spieth (68) and Brian Campbell, who won his first PGA Tour title last week in Mexico and fired 66.
Knapp obtained the 15th score of 59 or less on the PGA Tour, but only five of these other players won. The most recent was Brandt Snedeker over seven years ago. Knapp will also try to become the first winner of the thread in the history of the tournament.
For someone who led after each of the three laps, it was a different experience thanks to this 59.
“It was just a little bizarre after playing so well on Thursday … to hit blows and not have it perfect every time,” said Knapp. “I just had to manage my expectations and not be too frustrated by anything and understand that it’s a long week. There are a lot of great players here who can become stupid, so just trying to stick to my match plan.”
The Cognizant Classic has moved under different names over the years. PGA national may be enough for a circus with so much water and just enough wind that no lead is never sure. It was obvious on Saturday.