Knapp hangs on to Cognizant Classic lead

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Jake Knapp survived a wild Saturday at the Cognizant Classic and avoided calamity at the troublesome par-3 15th by making a pair of late birdies for a 3-under 68 and a one-shot lead going into the final round at PGA National.

Knapp, who opened the tournament with a 59, started the third round with a one-shot lead and was trailing by three shots when he made the turn. He holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 16th and finished with a chip-and-putt birdie on the par-5 closing hole to stay in front.

“A little bit all over the place,” said Knapp, who was at 16-under 197.

Right behind was Michael Kim — and nearly two dozen others.

There was so much movement in this captivating third round that 10 players had at least a share of the lead at one point. Some of them were undone by the 15th, playing 163 yards over water framed by a rock wall.

Taylor Montgomery, who had six birdies on the front nine and was the first player to reach 15 under, had a one-shot lead when he pumped two tee shots in the hazard on the 15th. The first was a line drive that nearly hit an alligator in the water. The second from the drop area rolled back into the crevice of a rock. It added up to a quadruple-bogey 7.

“You let your mind up in this game for one second, and it can bite you,” said Montgomery, who rallied with two birdies on the next three holes to salvage a 68. He was three behind.

Jesper Svensson of Sweden, who earned a PGA Tour card through the European tour last year, was tied for the lead when he caught too much ball from a bunker behind the 15th green and it sailed into the water. He made triple bogey, and hit his drive into the water on the 18th. Tied for the lead with four to play, he wound up six behind.

Another victim was Kim, though he had fortune on this side. He had a one-shot lead going to the 15th when his tee shot caromed high off the rocks, veered hard to the right and was headed for the water when it landed softly in the muck.

Most of the golf ball was showing, so he removed his right shoe and sock and blasted out of the mud and onto the green about 25 feet away. He two-putted for his first bogey of the tournament. It could have worse — and messier.

“I didn’t get as wet as I thought,” he said, though his face had speckles of mud.

Knapp made his mistakes on the front nine, particularly with his iron play and short game, but he steadied himself down the stretch as so many others struggled.

That leaves a final round loaded with possibilities on a course that has been getting firmer, particularly the green, as the week goes on under plenty of sunshine.

“It’s just a lot less pin hunting. It’s a little bit more conservative targets and you have to be a little bit more dialed in with distance control and shot shape and things like that because if you don’t you’ll end up in a bunker or water or somewhere you don’t want to be,” Knapp said.

Russell Henley and Ben Griffin each had a 66, and Doug Ghim had a 68 to finish the crazy day just two shots behind. Montgomery and Rickie Fowler (68) were three behind, followed by a group another shot back that included Joe Highsmith and Max McGreevy, who each signed for a 64 before the leaders even teed off.

Twenty-two players were within five shots of the lead, a group that includes Jordan Spieth (68) and Brian Campbell, who won his first PGA Tour title last week in Mexico and shot 66.

Knapp had the 15th score of 59 or lower on the PGA Tour, but only five of those other players went on to win. The most recent was Brandt Snedeker more than seven years ago. Knapp also will try to become the first wire-to-wire winner in tournament history.

For someone who has led after each of the three rounds, it’s been a different experience thanks to that 59.

“It just felt kind of weird after playing so well Thursday … to hit shots and not have it be perfect every single time,” Knapp said. “Just had to manage my expectations and not get too frustrated about anything and just understand that it’s a long week. There’s plenty of great players out here who can go stupid low, so just have to try to stick to my game plan.”

The Cognizant Classic has moved around under different names over the years. PGA National can be enough of a circus with so much water and just enough wind that no lead is ever safe. That much was evident on Saturday.