For Jake Knapp, there is no stopping. The California native has been a professional golfer for the last 9 years, but has found it difficult to translate good golf into victory. He has been brilliant and shown good consistency on the PGA Tour over the last two seasons. This year, he has participated in 14 events and made the top 10 2 times and only missed three cuts. But a title so scarce has been the reason why he was not able to qualify for the 2025 Masters, but Rory McIlroy breezed through. But his steely mind would be looking forward to righting that wrong.

Speaking to Dan Rapaport for Skratch’s On the Bag series, Knapp laid bare what he did during the 2025 Masters when Rory McIlroy was creating history by winning the major and the Career Grand Slam. “I made a point not to watch anything or have anything to do with last week until the back nine.” The PGA Tour pro explained.

Knapp qualified for the 2024 Masters courtesy of his first-ever PGA Tour victory at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, where he scored 19 under par. But since then, he has largely struggled on the Tour, recording just 4 top 10 finishes from then to the 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson. The lack of consistent success has prevented him from getting a shot at the Masters this year. “I was upset about [not getting selected]. I didn’t play great in the second half of last year, and I played ok the start of this season.” The UCLA grad stated.

The 2024 Masters was his debut professional major, despite having been a professional since 2016. He did make the cut at Augusta that year, finishing T55 with a score of 13 over par. Not bad, but not too great as well. Knapp would have been looking to set a better record this time around, but unfortunately, could not qualify for the Rory McIlroy starring major. “You get the first time under your belt, and you know what to expect. I wanted to be there playing.” He further added.

Knapp’s most recent appearance came at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, where he finished a decent T39 with an 11-under par. He is now set to feature at only his second PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in the coming week.

Not Rory McIlroy but Jake Knapp’s questionable major record

The 2025 PGA Championship will be the Arizona resident’s fifth major. His debut came as an amateur at the 2015 US Open, where he failed to make the cut. He had to wait nine more years to make his debut as a professional, which happened to be the 2024 Masters.

He did play in the 2024 PGA Championship and the 2024 US Open. However, he failed to make the cut at either of the events. The upcoming PGA Championship will be the 30-year-old’s opportunity to set the record straight and set his career rolling.

Do you think Jake Knapp could claim a good result at Quail Hollow next week? Or will he be overwhelmed by expectations yet again?