CJ Cup 2024 Byron Nelson standings, score: Jake Knapp takes 2nd place as Jordan Spieth misses the cut
A PGA Tour rookie is looking for his second win ahead of the 2024 Byron Nelson CJ Cup this weekend. Jake Knapp leads Matt Wallace and Troy Merritt by one stroke in the second round of this tournament at 14-under after back-to-back rounds of 7-under 64. The Mexican Open winner made 15 birdies just behind one shot fell through his first 36 holes.
Although he is just a rookie, Knapp will comfortably become the center of attention in the next two days. He acquitted himself well in his breakthrough victory at Vidanta Vallarta at the end of February and should put this experience to good use in the fight.
“Yeah, I feel comfortable,” Knapp said. “You know, I’ve been there before. Even Farmers is in the lead and Cognizant is in the lead. Courses like this, where the scores are going to be low, you don’t worry too much about what other people are doing.” do. You try to make a lot of birdies. You know, it’s a great course for me, so if I keep doing what I’m doing, I’ll do well.”
Despite his smooth swing and easy pace, Knapp has struggled since the Cognizant Classic, where he finished T4 a week after his win. He has failed to crack the top 40 in his last five tournaments, but that could be due to experiencing some firsts.
Entering a year without major championship exemptions and eligibility in feature events, Knapp changed all that in February. Since then, he’s endured a busy two months by competing in the PGA Tour’s flagship event, a few signature events and even coming up short in his Masters debut.
“I think I was a little tired,” Knapp said. “I think, mentally, there’s a lot going on and I’m not saying life has changed necessarily, it’s just that things have gotten busier and the days are longer. It’s just been a bit of an adjustment.” . I don’t feel like I have enough time.” same energy all day long for some of those weeks, which was depressing. I decided to take a sabbatical last week and reboot myself at home and work on some things I was struggling with and feel like things are going well. as of this week.”
While Sunday’s win isn’t his first individual victory, it would make Knapp the first rookie since Xander Schauffele in 2017 to win on the PGA Tour multiple times. He would also join Scottie Scheffler as the only players to win more than once so far this season, which is pretty good company for a rookie in 2024.
Leader
1. Jake Knapp (-14)
Although Knapp’s play has dipped a bit over the past two months, his iron play has not. His approach play is taking him far; He’s gone north of five strokes through two rounds and shows no signs of slowing down. Combined with his length and big stick, Knapp’s long game will put great pressure on his suitors to continue to win young birds on a wet and easy TPC Craig Farm approach.
Other candidates
T2. Matt Wallace, Troy Merritt (-13)
4. Kelly Kraft (-12)
T5. Keith Mitchell, Taylor Pendrith, Davis Riley (-11)
T8. SH Kim, Taiga Semikawa, Aaron Rai, Alex Noren, Keith Mitchell, Ben Kohles (-10)
T13. Nick Dunlap, Si Woo Kim, KH Lee, Zach Johnson, Adam Schenk, Byeong Hun An and five others (-9)
There are names in that negative nine, including Dunlap, Kim and two-time tournament winner Lee, but Johnson is an interesting presence. The 2023 United States Ryder Cup captain hasn’t had the best of times in several months after missing three consecutive individual cuts, being underrated by the Masters, where he went viral for something That’s not related to my game. However, in his 500th PGA Tour start, the two-time major champion struggled and credited his hard hat mentality with helping him get out of the hole.
“I tell you what, this is going to sound cliché, but my game was good too,” Johnson said. I just don’t have results yet in the season. “Very disappointed to not be able to finish. I’ve been working hard. My only focus from mid to late fall of last year until now has just been, for lack of a better term, working on the land, and I believe my best golf is still to come. Whether it’s this week or next week or next week, wherever it is, I’m still immersed in the process so I just have to be patient these last two days really good.
Si Woo’s scorching fire
Last year’s runner-up and one of this year’s most popular contestants, Si Woo Kim, was on the sidelines watching most of his second round. In contrast to the cut number, the Korean player needs a strong finish to ensure a tee time at the weekend. He was at 2 under for the tournament with 10 holes to play and reached 3 under thanks to a birdie on the ninth hole, par-5 18th. Kim remained at that number before making five birdies consecutively and a closing eagle in his final six holes to play them in 7-under. Not only did he play hard over the weekend, but he also came back in this golf tournament at minus-9.
Jordan Spieth sent his luggage early
Between the withdrawals of Will Zalatoris and Sungjae Im before the tournament and now Spieth’s absence, CJ Cup Byron Nelson will be without some star power this weekend. Spieth opened his tournament with back-to-back darts on Thursday but couldn’t recapture the magic with his approach play over the next 34 holes. He played the par 5s poorly, looked uncomfortable with some fairway lies and never ran down the hill. Spieth’s nagging wrist injury isn’t helping matters, but it’s clear that his game lacks quality at the moment. In his last eight starts, Spieth has:
CJ Cup 2024 Byron Nelson updates odds and picks
Odds via Sportsline consensus
- Jake Knapp: May 18
- Matt Wallace: 7-1
- Keith Mitchell: 10-1
- Troy Merritt: 14-1
- Alex Noren: 16-1
- Taylor Pendrith: 18-1
- Davis Riley: 18-1
- Si Woo Kim: 20-1
Let’s go the old route and take on Ben Griffin at 55-1. He has hit the irons well so far this week and appears to have hit the greens after a poor performance on Thursday. He sits five behind Knapp, which leaves little margin for error, but Griffin’s numbers still seem inflated.
