DETROIT – Jake Knapp achieved a rare feat unprecedented in PGA Tour history.
On Friday, Knapp fired an impressive 11-under-par 61, setting a new Rocket Classic record that had been established just the day before. This round also made him the first player on the tour to record scores below 60 and 61 or lower in the same season.
Despite this remarkable performance, he still found himself outside the top six positions heading into the weekend at Detroit Golf Club.
Chris Kirk (65), Philip Knowles (64), and Andrew Putnam (66) concluded the second round sharing the lead at 14 under par. Jackson Suber (65) was one stroke behind the co-leaders.
Aldrich Potgieter, who shot 70 after previously sharing the first-round record of 62 with Kevin Roy, was two strokes back, tied with Michael Thorbjornsen (67) and Mark Hubbard (69).
Knapp was part of a significant group of players, including Collin Morikawa (64), Hideki Matsuyama (66), and Roy (71), who were all three shots off the lead entering Saturday`s third round.
The 31-year-old Knapp, the winner of last year`s Mexico Open as a rookie, began his second round ranked 130th out of 156 players after an opening score of 72. His charge up the leaderboard came from a bogey-free round featuring nine birdies and an eagle.
“I was probably upset all night and this morning,” he commented, “so I think that maybe helped a little bit.”
Knapp, ranked world No. 99, is the only player on the tour with two rounds of 61 or better this season.
Four months prior, he shot a 59 at the Cognizant Classic – just one stroke shy of Jim Furyk`s tour record of 58 from 2016. He broke that tournament`s scoring record before ultimately finishing tied for sixth place.
Knapp`s 61 on Friday surpassed the 18-hole record at Detroit Golf Club, which had just been set the previous day when Potgieter and Roy both carded 62s.
“I feel like when I start making birdies, I want to make more,” Knapp stated. “I was even kind of thinking about 59 when I stuck it close on my third to last hole.”
The 28-year-old Knowles, seeking his inaugural PGA Tour victory, successfully made the cut for just the third time in 11 events, ending a run of five consecutive missed cuts.
“It hasn`t been my best year by any stretch of the imagination, but golf is funny,” he reflected. “When you`re playing bad, you never feel like you`re going to play good again. And when you have days like today, you just don`t understand how you could ever shoot a bad round of golf.”
The 40-year-old Kirk, who secured his sixth tour win at last year`s season-opening tournament, started his second round strong with three consecutive birdies and concluded the day with nine birdies against two bogeys.
Most players near the top of the leaderboard benefited from more favorable morning conditions, but Putnam was an exception.
Putnam played his round in the afternoon heat and humidity, facing stiff and swirling winds. He began well with three birdies and a bogey on the front nine but managed only one birdie on the back, positioning himself for a potential second PGA Tour win, his first since 2018.
“The wind came up, got a couple tricky holes out there,” Putnam said, “so I`m glad I could grind it out.”
