PGA Tour rookies went head-to-head late Sunday at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, with former bouncer Jake Knapp topping Sami Valimaki to take home his first victory in just his ninth start. After starting the final round four shots ahead, the Korn Ferry Tour graduate started off nervy with bogeys on two of the first three holes. He made two birdies to even it out and shot an even-par 71 to finish at 19-under-par 265 total to earn $1.458 million from an $8.1 million overall purse. He qualified for the Masters.
Knapp, who tied for third place at the Farmers Insurance Open, only hit two of 13 fairways in final round in Mexico, the first winner to do that in the last round since 1983. But he made every putt he faced inside five feet the entire week. Valimaki failed to apply any pressure late, making par on the last five holes. He shot 69 to finish two shots behind Knapp and record the best finish of his PGA Tour career. He earned $882,900.
“I feel like I have the game to win over here, it just wasn’t this Sunday,” said Valimaki, one of 10 players from the DP World Tour to qualify for the PGA Tour this year.
2023 champion Tony Finau, the biggest name in the field, never mounted much of a charge in his title defence but tied for 13th place, eight shots back.
This week marked a one-off of sorts as the tour makes its way from the West Coast to Florida, where it will be for the next month. Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler are just two of the top stars to be playing at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens at the newly-named Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches, formerly the Honda Classic.
Here is the prize money breakdown for every golfer who made the cut.
WIN: Jake Knapp, -19/265, $1.458 million
2: Sami Valimaki, -17/267, $882,900
T-3: Stephan Jaeger, -14/270, $429,300
T-3: C.T. Pan, -14/270, $429,300
T-3: Justin Lower, -14/270, $429,300
T-6: Patrick Rodgers, -13/271, $283,500
T-6: Robert MacIntyre, -13/271, $283,500
T-8: Carson Young, -12/272, $220,625
T-8: Doug Ghim, -12/272, $220,625
T-8: Andrew Novak, -12/272, $220,725
T-8: Erik van Rooyen, -12/272, $220,625
T-8: Chan Kim, -12/272, $220,625
T-13: Maverick McNealy, -11/273, $145,125
T-13: Tony Finau, -11/273, $145,125
T-13: Alvaro Ortiz, -11/273, $145,125
T-13: Brandon Wu, -11/273, $145,125
T-13: Ben Silverman, -11/273, $145,125
T-13: Henrik Norlander, -11/273, $145,125
T-19: Aaron Rai, -10/274, $99,549
T-19: Greyson Sigg, -10/274, $99,549
T-19: Martin Trainer, -10/274, $99,549
T-19: Jorge Campillo, -10/274, $99,549
T-19: Keith Mitchell, -10/274, $99,549
T-24: Dylan Wu, -9/275, $61,695
T-24: Nico Echavarria, -9/275, $61,695
T-24: Aaron Baddeley, -9/275, $61,695
T-24: Chandler Phillips, -9/275, $61,695
T-24: Parker Coody, -9/275, $61,695
T-24: Stuart Macdonald, -9/275, $61,695
T-24: Chesson Hadley, -9/275, $61,695
T-24: Cameron Champ, -9/275, $61,695
T-24: Davis Thompson, -9/275, $61,695
T-33: Harry Hall, -8/276, $44,145
T-33: James Hahn, -8/276, $44,145
T-33: Chad Ramey, -8/276, $44,145
T-33: Emiliano Grillo, -8/276, $44,145
T-33: Matt Wallace, -8/276, $44,145
T-38: Joseph Bramlett, -7/277, $32,805
T-38: Rafael Campos, -7/277, $32,805
T-38: Austin Eckroat, -7/277, $32,805
T-38: Hayden Springer, -7/277, $32,805
T-38: Ryan McCormick, -7/277, $32,805
T-38: Jimmy Stanger, -7/277, $32,805
T-38: Kevin Doughterty, -7/277, $32,805
T-38: Wilson Furr, -7/277, $32,805
T-46: Santiago De la Fuente (a), -6/278, $0
T-46: Thorbjorn Olesen, -6/278, $25,515
T-48: Ryo Hisatsune, -5/279, $22,194
T-48: Cristobal Del Solar, -5/279, $22,194
T-48: Lanto Griffin, -5/279, $22,194
T-48: Mark Hubbard, -5/279, $22,194
T-52: Nicolai Hojgaard, -4/280, $19,467
T-52: Austin Smotherman, -4/280, $19,467
T-52: Padraig Harrington, -4/280, $19,467
T-52: Victor Perez, -4/280, $19,467
T-52: Carl Yuan, -4/280, $19,467
T-52: Ryan Palmer, -4/280, $19,467
T-58: Erik Barnes, -3/281, $18,630
T-58: Troy Merritt, -3/281, $18,630
T-60: Trace Crowe, -1/283, $18,063
T-60: Ryan Moore, -1/283, $18,063
T-60: Jhonattan Vegas, -1/283, $18,063
T-60: Garrick Higgo, -1/283, $18,063
T-60: Robby Shelton, -1/283, $18,063
65: MJ Daffue, +6/290, $17,577
Main Image: Hector Vivas
