BRAINERD, Minn. – Flirting with the cutline late during the second round Friday, Californian Jake Knapp’s ace-eagle finish propelled him into the weekend, where he played his final 36 holes in 15-under to claim a two-stroke victory at the 2022 CRMC Championship at Cragun’s Legacy Courses.
“I’d be lying if I said [missing the cut] didn’t cross my mind when I got to 14 and 15 Friday,” Knapp said after his win Sunday. “I was stagnant all day—I felt like I had been hitting it good, but I just couldn’t get anything going.
“It’s pretty nuts to think that 38 or 39 nine holes later, I’m standing here.”
Knapp entered the final round with a one-stroke lead and held off Fortinet Cup points leader Wil Bateman by firing a 6-under 64 to earn his first victory in three seasons.
“Being the first event in the states, it’s nice that someone from the states is able to take it home,” he said. “It’s definitely a special week.
“Anytime you’re playing with the lead, you’re trying to make sure you don’t go backwards. I’d say I played conservatively aggressive today and I knew I was hitting it well, so if there were holes that fit me, I was taking it at the pin.”
Knapp builds on a strong season during which he’s notched a runner-up finish at the first event of the season in June at the Royal Beach Victoria Open. Prior to his missed cut at last week’s CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open, Knapp claimed a third-place finish at the Quebec Open earlier this month.
During the final round Sunday, Knapp scattered a pair of birdies over his opening nine to turn in 22-under for the championship to share the lead with Bateman. Knapp rolled in his 10-footer for birdie at the 10th to recapture the outright lead.
Following a Bateman birdie to keep pace at the 12th, Knapp countered by rolling in an 8-footer for birdie to take the lead for good at 24-under.
Nearly recording his second ace of the week at the 15th, Knapp converted a short birdie chance and clinched the tournament with a tap-in birdie at the last to claim a two-stroke victory at 26-under 254.
“I just stayed really patient all day. I’m someone who likes to play really aggressive and I’m not afraid to, but sometimes that gets me in trouble,” Knapp said. “Out here I wanted to make sure I made it as easy and not stress myself out as much as possible.
“Today, it was nice not having to do anything too crazy to win. The more shots you can build up before then, the better. I was driving it really well and I knew if I kept driving it well, I was going to have a ton of chances.”
During his four rounds this week, Knapp carded an ace, four eagles and three birdies on holes 16-18, shooting 13-under par during the stretch.
A former University of California-Los Angeles golfer, Knapp’s best season as a professional came in 2019 when he finished first at PGA Tour Canada Q-School before collecting wins at the Canada Life Open and the GolfBC Championship, amassing more than 120,000 Canadian dollars.
The 28-year-old from Costa Mesa, Calif., made 36 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, making 16 cuts and claiming one top-10 finish to earn over $76,000.
With his win Sunday, Knapp moves up seven spots in the Fortinet Cup standings heading to next week’s regular season finale at the site of his last win at the GolfBC Championship in Kelowna, British Columbia, trailing Bateman by 17 points
“After a few of the wins in 2019, it was definitely emotional,” said Knapp, whose father is from Wisconsin, while his mother hails from Winnipeg. “We’re an emotional family and they do all the crying for me. They know how much work I’ve put into this, so it’s nice when you see your son get something out of what he’s putting in.”
Carding six birdies during his first seven holes Sunday, Bateman quickly played himself into contention after beginning the round four shots off the lead.
He earned a brief share of the lead with his birdie at the 12th, but couldn’t keep pace with Knapp despite moving to 24-under with his birdie at the 16th.
The 28-year-old from Edmonton, Alberta took a step back with a bogey at the 17th, but would tap-in a birdie at the last to finish in second at 24-under 256 to maintain his No. 1 position in the Fortinet Cup standings.
“I played great this week. A little bit of pressure going out there Thursday after going back to No. 1 [in the standings] last week,” Bateman said. "I thought I handled it really well.
“Out of the gates today, just got it firing. Today I wanted to get off to a better start. I’ve been playing well for a really long time and I think it’s helping me get more comfortable. It’s been nice to really turn it on this year.”
A final-round 66 lifted former University of Minnesota golfer Justin Doeden five spots on the leaderboard to a 37th-place finish at 12-under 268. Fellow Gopher Angus Flanagan posted back-to-back rounds of 66 to begin the championship before founds of 69-68 put him into a tie for 44th at 11-under 269.
Former California Polytechnic State University golfer and son of CRMC Championship honorary chairman Tom Lehman, Thomas Lehman placed 65th at 1-over 281.
THE 2022 CRMC CHAMPIONSHIP
CRAGUN’S LEGACY COURSES
BRAINERD, MINN.
7,123 YARDS, PAR 70
SUNDAY’S FINAL RESULTS
1. Jake Knapp, United States, 64-65-61-64—254
2. Wil Bateman, Canada, 63-65-66-62—256
T3. Thomas Walsh, United States, 63-63-69-63—258
T3. Ryan Gerard, United States, 65-63-65-65—258
T3. Trent Phillips, United States, 68-61-62-67—258
T3. Conner Godsey, United States, 62-65-65-66—258
T8. Guillaume, Fanonnel, France, 65-64-67-63—259
T8. Myles Creighton, Canada, 65-68-62-64—259
T8. Alexander Herrmann, Germany, 61-62-69-67—259
T37. JUSTIN DOEDEN, UNITED STATES, 69-65-68-66—268
T44. ANGUS FLANAGAN, ENGLAND, 66-66-69-68—269
65. THOMAS LEHMAN, UNITED STATES, 68-66-72-75—281
For complete tournament results go to: www.pgatour.com/canada/en_us/leaderboard.html
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