Knapp went from nightclub bouncer to $1.4M PGA Tour winner

Jake Knapp. Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Jake Knapp went from nightclub bouncer to $1.4 million PGA Tour winner

By Jack Dougherty | Last updated 2/26/24

Two years ago, Jake Knapp was checking IDs and throwing out over-served customers at his hometown nightclub. On Sunday, the only checking the PGA Tour rookie was doing was cashing one for $1.4M.

Knapp shot a final-round 71 to win the Mexico Open at Vidanta in just his ninth career PGA Tour start. The 29-year-old coughed up his four-stroke lead with two bogeys in his first three holes of the day, but he rebounded to shoot a 1-under 35 on the back 9 to win the tournament by two shots at 19 under par.

After a sensational ball-striking performance in the third round that gave him a healthy lead, Knapp hit just two fairways and nine greens in regulation on Sunday. He was only able to hold on because he went 7-of-9 scrambling and drained seemingly every five-footer he saw at Vidanta Vallarta.

Rookie Jake Knapp seals the deal

The moment @KnappTime_LTD became a PGA TOUR champion. pic.twitter.com/LjLehr7NeY
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 25, 2024

It wasn't an easy road for Knapp to get to this point, though.

In 2021, after losing his Korn Ferry Tour card, the Costa Mesa, Calif. native scored a job at a local restaurant and nightclub to help support his professional golf dreams. Knapp originally applied for a job at the bar, but he ended up working as a bouncer for the nightclub on weekends.

"They needed a security guy, and I was like, 'I don’t know if I’m big enough, but I can stand there and look tough,'" Knapp told reporters Sunday after winning his first PGA Tour event.

"Standing there at one in the morning every Friday and Saturday night, you kind of realize how good you have it when you get to travel and play golf for a living. Then also a bit of grittiness, the fact that I don’t want to necessarily have to go back to that. I think it just kind of gave me some thicker skin and allowed me to get to where I am now."

Knapp worked at the nightclub for eight months while fine-tuning his golf game. He won the CRMC Championship on PGA Tour Canada in 2022 and played his way back to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023. Thanks to the best KFT season of his career, Knapp earned his PGA Tour card for the first time in 2024.

It only took him five starts to notch his first win, and based on the hot start to his rookie season, more wins could be right around the corner for the former bouncer.

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