A PGA Tour rookie looks for victory No. 2 heading into the weekend at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Jake Knapp takes a one-stroke lead over Matt Wallace and Troy Merritt into the second half of this tournament at 14 under after back-to-back rounds of 7-under 64. The Mexico Open winner has carded 15 birdies against just one dropped shot through his first 36 holes.
Although a rookie by name, Knapp should be comfortable in the spotlight over the next two days. He acquitted himself nicely in his breakthrough victory at Vidanta Vallarta in late February and should put this experience in contention to good use.
“Yeah, I feel comfortable,” Knapp said. “You know, I’ve been there before. Even Farmers was around the lead and Cognizant was around the lead there. Courses like this where scores are going to be low, you don’t worry too much about what other guys are doing. You try to make a bunch of birdies. You know, it’s a course that fits me well, so if I just keep doing the things I’m doing, I’ll be in a good spot.”
Despite his silky smooth swing and effortless speed, Knapp has struggled since the Cognizant Classic, where he finished T4 the week following his win. He has failed to collect a top-40 result in his last five tournaments, but that may be chalked up to experiencing a number of firsts.
Coming into the year without major championship exemptions and status in signature events, Knapp changed all that in February. Since then, he has endured a busy two months by playing in the PGA Tour’s flagship event, a couple of signature events, and even making the cut in his Masters debut.
“I think I just got a little tired,” Knapp said. “I think, mentally, it was just a lot going on, and I wouldn’t say necessarily life changing, just everything got busier and days got longer. It was just a bit of an adjustment. Didn’t feel like I had the same energy throughout the day in some of those weeks, which was kind of a bummer. Decided to take last week off and give myself a good reset at home and work on some things I’ve been struggling with, and feel like it’s working out this week so far.
Although a win on Sunday wouldn’t be a personal first, it would make Knapp the first rookie since Xander Schauffele in 2017 to win multiple times on the PGA Tour. He’d also join Scottie Scheffler as the only other player to win more than once so far this season, which is pretty good company for a rookie in the year 2024.
The leader
1. Jake Knapp (-14)
Even though Knapp’s game has dipped a little over the last two months, his iron play has not. The approach play is carrying him thus far; he gained north of five strokes with his irons through two rounds and shows no signs of slowing down. Combined with his length with the big stick, Knapp’s long game will put ample pressure on his pursuers to keep tacking on birdies on what will be a wet and accessible TPC Craig Ranch.
Other contenders
T2. Matt Wallace, Troy Merritt (-13)
4. Kelly Kraft (-12)
T5. Keith Mitchell, Taylor Pendrith,Davis Riley (-11)
T8. S.H. Kim, Taiga Semikawa, Aaron Rai, Alex Noren, Keith Mitchell, Ben Kohles (-10)
T13. Nick Dunlap, Si Woo Kim, K.H. Lee, Zach Johnson, Adam Schenk, Byeong Hun An and five others (-9)
There are names at that 9-under number, including Dunlap, Kim and two-time tournament winner Lee, but Johnson is an interesting inclusion. The 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup captain hasn’t enjoyed the nicest couple of months after missing three straight individual cuts, lowlighted by the Masters, where he went viral for something not related to his game. Still, in his 500th PGA Tour start, the two-time major champion is in the thick of it and credits a hard-hat mentality for digging him out of the hole.
“I tell you, this is going to sound, well, cliché, but also my game has been good; I just haven’t season results,” Johnson said. “Very frustrated with lack of finishes. I’ve worked hard. My sole focus mid-to late fall last year to now has just been just, for lack of a better term, working in the dirt, and I believe my best golf is still coming. Whether it’s this week or the next or the following, wherever it may be, I’m still so engrained in that process that I just have to remain patient. It’s coming. The last two days were really good.”
Si Woo’s scorcher
Last year’s runner-up and one of this year’s favorite, Si Woo Kim, was on the outside looking in for most of his second round. On the wrong side of the cut number, the South Korean needed a massive finish to secure a weekend tee time. He stood at 2 under for the tournament with 10 holes to play and got to 3 under courtesy of a birdie on his ninth hole, the par-5 18th. Kim remained on this number before rattling off five straight birdies and a closing eagle over his last six holes to play them in a 7-under fashion. He not only played himself into the weekend, but he played himself back into this golf tournament at 9 under.
Jordan Spieth sent packing early
Between the withdrawals of Will Zalatoris and Sungjae Im before the tournament and now a missed cut from Spieth, the CJ Cup Byron Nelson will be without some star power over the weekend. Spieth opened his tournament with back-to-back darts on Thursday but was unable to recapture the magic with his approach play over the next 34 holes. He played the par 5s poorly, looked uncomfortable with certain lies in the fairway and never got running down hill. Spieth’s nagging wrist injury does nothing to help, but it’s clear there’s a lack of quality in his game at the moment. In his last 8 starts, Spieth has:
2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson updated odds and picks
Odds via Sportsline consensus
- Jake Knapp: 18/5
- Matt Wallace: 7-1
- Keith Mitchell: 10-1
- Troy Merritt: 14-1
- Alex Noren: 16-1
- Taylor Pendrith: 18-1
- Davis Riley: 18-1
- Si Woo Kim: 20-1
Let’s go off the beaten path and rock with Ben Griffin at 55-1. He has been hitting his irons great so far this week and looks to have turned the corner on the greens after a poor putting performance on Thursday. He sits five behind Knapp, which leads little room for error, but Griffin’s number still looks a touch inflated.
