Jake Knapp Crushes Sami Valimaki’s Dream to Win 2024 Mexico Open, Claims Maiden PGA Tour Crown After Debut

The Vidanta Vallarta dishes out its winner! Yes, the 2024 Mexico Open finally crowned Jake Knapp as its champion a while back. He was able to beat the likes of Sami Valimaki and Stephan Jaeger with figures of an even par 71 in the final round on Sunday to emerge victorious at the same. Meanwhile, the runner-up, Valimaki could only score a 69 (-2) on the fourth day, thereby lagging behind the victor by 2 strokes.

That’s not all. The golfer was able to rake in a cut of $1.458 million from the total pool of $8.1 million. Moreover, to claim the same, he managed to score a total of 19 under 265 over the four days of play, thereby clinching his first win on the men’s circuit and that too on his fifth rookie start on the 2024 PGA Tour calendar.

The American Pro shot two birdies as well as two bogeys on his final day to card the even score, which helped him maintain his overall figures of 19-under, which he managed to gain on Saturday. Even so, the field couldn’t manage to overcome the golfer owing to the 23 birdies he dished out over the past three days of play, increasing his total count to a whopping 25 birdies over the four rounds.

His first victory on the PGA Tour helped him rake in a total of 500 FedEx points, due to which he is projected to have jumped an insane 45 places. Moreover, the 29-year-old’s triumph would add to the 172.905 points he already had over his first four starts on the Jay Monahan-led circuit, leading to him occupying the 8th position from the 53rd one.

Let’s jump back to 2023 for a second. Tony Finau, the champion of the Mexico Open back then, received a total of 29.77515 points on the OWGR owing to his win. Now, coming back to 2024, the champ for this week’s event would be awarded figures of 31.11485, around 1.3397 more than what the 2023 champ gained.

The athlete was able to beat his own lowest career figures, which he had managed to dish out back in the second round of the 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii, at 65 (-5). During the third round of the Mexico Open, Knapp was able to register a score of 8-under-63, which in turn, allowed the golfer to set himself up nicely for the victory on Sunday. Jake Knapp is now basking in the glory of his win but the Mexico Open Champ’s journey to success was not an easy one.

Jake Knapp’s journey from a bouncer to a PGA Tour champ

The athlete, back in 2021, had taken up the job of a nightclub bouncer after a series of misfortunes came his way. He used the money he received from the job he did for nine months to fund mini-tour stuff and play on the Canada Tour. Knapp’s unwavering determination surely yielded results, and he was able to claim his first win on the PGA Tour.

Meanwhile, the 29-year-old’s scores of 67-64-63-71 over the four rounds helped him clinch his fourth professional win. His first three victories came on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada at the 2019  Canada Life Open and the GolfBC Championship the same year, followed by a victory at the 2022 CRMC Championship presented by Gertens.

His reaction? “It’s pretty amazing,” said the golfer before continuing, “I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet.” Well, a natural response by the 1-time PGA Tour champ who surprised many with his talent. Nevertheless, one can hope that this triumph will be the first step in the talented golfer’s career.

READ MORE – 2024 Mexico Open: Prize Money Breakdown and Winner’s Payout