COGNIZANT CLASSIC

March 3, 2024

Jake Knapp

PGA National Champion Course

Quick Quotes

Q. Kind of a weird day, but at least tomorrow you've got a couple holes to play, still a chance. Take us through the emotions of the day and how it went.

JAKE KNAPP: Yeah, obviously anytime you have a delay, you just have to fill your time, do something, hang out, and then do your best to lock back in and get ready to make some birdies because obviously they're out there right now with the softer conditions. Yeah, going to go back out tomorrow morning and try to do the same thing.

Q. Do you take more aggressive lines after the delay knowing what it would be like?

JAKE KNAPP: A little bit. Not too much. There's definitely a couple pins you can't be overly aggressive to, especially because when bunkers get washed out and wet like this, they're kind of unpredictable. Still have to be smart, but yeah, was definitely -- when I liked the number and liked the club, just trying to be a little more aggressive.

Q. What did you do during the delay?

JAKE KNAPP: Nothing. Just sat in player dining, had a couple meals and tried to dry out my clothes the best I could.

Q. How proud are you of the way you backed up last week?

JAKE KNAPP: For sure. I think it's funny, like a lot of people say, don't read the comments and worry what people are saying, but I know people are ripping me apart for my performance on Sunday and the amount of fairways I missed.

It's not that I need to prove anything to anybody or anything like that, but I feel like I can play well on any style of golf course, and most guys out here, when your game is on, it's on, and I feel like I'm playing well. It just feels good to come out here and validate that.

Q. Did that motivate you, those comments?

JAKE KNAPP: Not really because I don't want to give them that credit. But no, when I look at the round, it's like, I know that 2 of 14 fairways isn't good, but there's very few places on that golf course where you cannot go, so made sure I avoided those places, missed a couple fairways by a yard here or there or a fairway bunker or whatever. It's not like I was hitting it that bad, I was just trying to manage it the best I could.

Q. What was the biggest takeaway from three straight rounds with Rory?

JAKE KNAPP: Just that even as the No. 2 best player in the world but somebody who's for sure good enough to be the No. 1, just that he hits bad shots, too, and he's human and just a normal guy who's really, really good at golf. I think somebody like him has every right to be kind of standoffish and stay in their little bubble, but he's just super generous and just a good leader by example, just showing that you can still be a good person and be helpful, no matter what status you get to.

Q. Will the focus be maintaining energy these next few weeks? How much is that top of mind for you?

JAKE KNAPP: For sure, it's definitely at the top of my mind. I was going to do another pro-am on Monday off-site this next week and decided not to. It's been a lot of golf and a lot of things, whether it's socially or whatever, and even just new fan interactions and all that. It has been a little bit more draining I would say, and in a good way, obviously. I'm very fortunate to be in that position. But yeah, just making sure I get to bed early and also staying in my routine, trying to work out and eat well and making sure I'm ready to go the next day.

Q. Is the little kid in you able to enjoy the fact that you're going to Bay Hill, THE PLAYERS Championship, the Masters, places you dreamed about as a kid?

JAKE KNAPP: Yeah, I think it's finally starting to a little bit. Obviously trying to organize where you're staying and all that sort of stuff can be kind of hectic, but now it's all starting to get settled in. We kind of know what we're doing. We know where we're going each day.

So I was talking with my caddie, I'm like, this week kind of seemed like the golf was the easiest part of everything. The golf was just kind of walking down the fairway with a couple buddies and just playing. Looking forward to getting back to more of that.