Why newly-minted TOUR winner Jake Knapp's childhood idol was Luke Donald

When it comes to playing style, Jake Knapp and Luke Donald don’t seem to go together.

Yet as a junior golfer in Southern California, Knapp strived to emulate Donald.

Knapp is well known for his effortless power, but that wasn’t always the case. He didn’t hit his growth spurt into his mid-teens, and he relished a more grinder-type approach to the game. The Mexico Open at Vidanta winner has been cast as a new-age power player, and he is, but there’s more than meets the eye.

Hence his evolution in the game wasn’t fueled by only power players. It was Donald who caught his eye, the Englishman who rose to world No. 1 by relishing the pursuit of the game’s finer edges, shaving strokes by staying in position and cleaning up around the greens.

“Growing up, I was super undersized as a kid, and I didn't grow until like my junior year in high school,” Knapp said after Thursday’s opening-round 68 at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. “At the time (Donald) was around world No. 1 and just an insanely good short game, really good at putting, so I tried to take after his game and focus on those two things.”

(This anecdote’s serendipity: The Cognizant Classic marks Donald’s debut as an NBC guest analyst.)

As Knapp built strength, he began to emulate some of the game’s premier power players, but his grit around the greens in the final round at Vidanta Vallarta would have made Donald proud. Knapp only hit two of 13 fairways Sunday, but he kept saving pars with a series of timely up-and-downs, ultimately good enough for a two-stroke win over Sami Valimaki.

In the past few days, Knapp’s story has made the rounds across the golf and sports worlds, deservedly so. After six years of struggling to prove himself at the game’s lower levels, he took a job as a nightclub bouncer for nine months to supplement his income into the 2022 PGA TOUR Canada season. He’s a lifelong Anaheim Ducks fan who generated a partnership with the hockey team from a chance nine-hole pairing with a club executive, and he gleaned insights from a mental coach whom he met while working security at a wedding. Knapp embraces life’s edges to maximize his potential – as Donald did by reaching world No. 1 despite perennially ranking near the TOUR’s bottom in driving distance.

Knapp is paired with world No. 2 Rory McIlroy for the first two rounds at this week’s Cognizant Classic, and McIlroy was impressed Thursday with what he saw.

“He could definitely be a star,” McIlroy said afterward. “It looks like he's got the full package. He's obviously got the speed. He can control that speed pretty well. He hit some beautiful shots out there today. Looks like his short game is pretty good.

“He's got charisma and … we had a good chat out there for a lot of the round. He's in good shape, and … if he keeps playing the way he is, he's the full package. He could be a superstar out here for sure.”

Perhaps a progression toward world No. 1, like his childhood hero, is underway.