Latest news with #ChrisKirk
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Knapp breaks record, Aussie Endycott in the PGA mix
Jake Knapp has pulled off a feat no one else has in PGA Tour history. Knapp shot an 11-under 61 on Friday to break a Rocket Classic record that stood for less than a day and became the first on the tour to break 60 and shoot a 61 or lower in the same season. But that still wasn't enough to put him in the top six, entering the weekend at Detroit Golf Club. No course-record is safe @RocketClassic 🔥 — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 27, 2025 Chris Kirk (65), Philip Knowles (64) and Andrew Putnam (66) share the second-round lead at 14 under. Jackson Suber (65) was another shot back. Aldrich Potgieter, who had a 70 after sharing the 18-hole lead with Kevin Roy after a record-setting 62, was two strokes back with Michael Thorbjornsen (67) and Mark Hubbard (69). Knapp was in a large pack of players, including Australian Harrison Endycott (66), Collin Morikawa (64), Hideki Matsuyama (66) and Roy (71), three shots off the lead going into the third round. Endycott followed his opening 67 with a bogey-free six-under 66. The 29-year-old Sydneysider made three birdies on each nine, including going back-to-back on 13 and 14. The 31-year-old Knapp, who won the Mexico Open last year as a rookie, started the second round 130th in the 156-player field after opening with a 72. He surged into contention with nine birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round. "I was just probably upset all night and this morning, so I think that maybe helped a little bit," he said. Knapp, ranked No.99 in the world, is the only player on the tour to shoot 61 or better in two rounds this season. He shot a 59 - one off the tour scoring record of 58 set by Jim Furyk in 2016 - at the Cognizant Classic four months ago, when he broke the tournament scoring record before cooling off and tying for sixth. Knapp broke the 18-hole record at Detroit Golf Club that was set Thursday in the first round when Potgieter and Roy both shot a 62. "I feel like when I start making birdies, I want to make more," Knapp said. "I was even kind of thinking about 59 when I stuck it close on my third to last hole." The 28-year-old Knowles, shooting for his first PGA Tour win, made the cut for just the third time in 11 events after failing to make it to the weekend at five straight tournaments. "It's not been my best year thus far by any stretch of the imagination, but golf is funny," he said. "When you're playing bad, you never feel like you're going to play good again. And when you have days like today, you just don't understand how you could ever shoot a bad round of golf." Min Woo Lee, the first to break the course record with a 63 on Thursday, made 73 on Friday to tumble down the field to tied 36th. He made the six-under cut by two, but Aaron Baddeley (71,73), Cam Davis (74, 70) and Karl Vilips (71,74) will all miss the weekend action.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Knowles soars with eagles to share PGA Detroit lead
American Philip Knowles looks to the crowd after holing out for eagle at the 17th hole to help grab a share of the lead after the second round of the PGA Rocket Classic (Raj Mehta) Philip Knowles chipped in for three eagles and grabbed a share of the lead with fellow Americans Chris Kirk and Andrew Putnam after Friday's second round of the US PGA Tour Rocket Classic. Knowles, ranked 519th in the world, fired an eight-under par 64 to match Kirk and Putnam on 14-under 130 for 36 holes at Detroit Golf Club. Advertisement "I got pretty lucky a couple times," Knowles said. "I hit quality shots that ended up going in the hole, but I can't imagine chipping in three times for eagle ever again in my life." Back-nine starter Knowles, on a medical exemption after thumb and eye injuries the past two years, seeks his first PGA title after making the cut only twice in 11 prior starts this season. "It has not been my best year thus far by any stretch of the imagination, but golf is funny," Knowles said. "When you're playing bad, you never feel like you're going to play good again, and when you have days like today, you just don't understand how you could ever shoot a bad round of golf. "So it was super rewarding." Advertisement Knowles made his first eagle came at the par-five 17th, when he rolled in an 81-foot chip from the fringe. At the par-five fourth, Knowles chipped in from the fairway from 37 yards and, three holes later on another par-five, he chipped in from the left rough from 40 holes. "That was surreal," he said. Putnam, who shot 66, birdied three of the first four holes then eagled the par-five seventh on an 88-foot chip-in from the fairway and got up and down from a bunker at 14 in his bogey-free round. "It didn't feel like bogey free," Putnam said. "It felt like I was kind of all over the place on the back nine, but the front nine was pretty simple golf. Wind came up, got a couple tricky holes out there, so glad I could grind it out." Advertisement Kirk fired a 65, opening with three consecutive birdies and closing with back-to-back birdies. He seeks a seventh career PGA title and his first since last year's tournament of champions in Hawaii. "Dream start for sure," Kirk said. "Then was able to add a few more. Back nine was a little bit more hit and miss... But I was in a really good rhythm. Proud of the way I hung in there and kept hitting good shots." American Jackson Suber was fourth on 131 with countrymen Mark Hubbard and Michael Thorbjornsen and South African Aldrich Potgieter on 132. Jake Knapp fired a course-record 61 to stand on 133, his bogey-free round with nine birdies and an eagle breaking the mark of 62 set Thursday by fellow American Kevin Roy and Potgieter. Advertisement It was the second course record of the season by Knapp, who fired a 59 at PGA National in the Cognizant Classic. "I'm definitely not afraid of shooting a low number," Knapp said. "When I start making birdies, I want to make more." js/bb
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rocket Classic scoring record broken again in second round at Detroit Golf Club
DETROIT — Jake Knapp has pulled off a feat no one else has in PGA Tour history. Knapp shot an 11-under 61 on Friday to break a Rocket Classic record that stood for less than a day and became the first on the tour to break 60 and shoot a 61 or lower in the same season. Advertisement That still wasn't enough to put him in the top six, entering the weekend at Detroit Golf Club. Chris Kirk (65), Philip Knowles (64) and Andrew Putnam (66) share the second-round lead at 14 under. Jackson Suber (65) was another shot back. Aldrich Potgieter, who had a 70 after sharing the 18-hole lead with Kevin Roy after both shot a record-setting 62, and Mark Hubbard were another stroke behind the leader. Knapp was in a large pack of players, including with Collin Morikawa (64), Hideki Matsuyama (66) and Roy (71), three shots off the lead going into the third round. The 31-year-old Knapp, who won the Mexico Open last year as a rookie, started the second round 130th in the 156-player field after opening with a 72. He surged into contention with nine birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round. Advertisement 'I was just probably upset all night and this morning, so I think that maybe helped a little bit,' he said. Knapp, ranked No. 99 in the world, is the only player on the Tour to shoot 61 or better in two rounds this season. He shot a 59 — one off the tour scoring record of 58 set by Jim Furyk in 2016 — at the Cognizant Classic four months ago, when he broke the tournament scoring record before cooling off and tying for sixth. Knapp broke the 18-hole record at Detroit Golf Club that was set Thursday in the first round when Potgieter and Roy both shot a 62. 'I feel like when I start making birdies, I want to make more,' Knapp said. 'I was even kind of thinking about 59 when I stuck it close on my third to last hole.' Advertisement The 28-year-old Knowles, shooting for his first PGA Tour win, made the cut for just the third time in 11 events after failing to make it to the weekend at five straight tournaments. 'It's not been my best year thus far by any stretch of the imagination, but golf is funny,' he said. 'When you're playing bad, you never feel like you're going to play good again. And when you have days like today, you just don't understand how you could ever shoot a bad round of golf.'
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
PGA Tour Warns of Late Weather Concerns at Rocket Classic on Friday
PGA Tour Warns of Late Weather Concerns at Rocket Classic on Friday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Rocket Classic is heating up literally whether it be the players or the weather. After a thrilling opening round at Detroit Golf Club, the leaderboard is tightly packed. Min Woo Lee's early 9-under 63 looked like it might hold, but Kevin Roy and Aldrich Potgieter stole the show, on the first round of the Classic. Advertisement Chris Kirk and Philip Knowles are the joint players to hold the No.1 spot. Both are at 14-under "It's a bit of a scrum," as one observer noted, with 129 of the 156-player field breaking par. That sets the stage for a wild Friday, if the weather allows. The PGA Tour's weather forecast for Friday, June 27, warns of potentially severe weather in the later stages of the day. Scenes on the 18th green of opening day of the LECOM Suncoast Classic, a Korn Ferry Tour event, at the Lakewood National Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.© Thomas Bender/Sarasota Herald-Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images While the morning begins with just a slight chance of thunderstorms at 9 a.m. (30% rain, 20% lightning) and then clears up with partly cloudy skies through 3 p.m., trouble starts brewing in the evening. The weather is expected to turn with 'strong' thunderstorms likely between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., peaking with a 70% chance of rain and 70% lightning probability by 7 p.m. Winds will also pick up, gusting to 24 mph by afternoon. The heat won't help either. Temperatures are forecasted to hit a high of 90°F, with a heat index of 96°F, making for sweltering conditions out on the course. 'Severe weather is possible between 5–8pm today,' the PGA Tour cautioned, and that could mean disruptions or delays for late tee times. With weather looming and players going low, Friday could turn chaotic. As fans and players eye the skies, the early movers on the leaderboard might just end up with the best deal of the day. Advertisement Related: Dallas Cowboys Star Dak Prescott Turns Heads on Thursday This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
Daily Record
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
PGA Tour ace back in the lucky Airbnb as Trophy House secret behind stars that can't stop winning revealed
Chris Kirk has a spot secured in the amazing accommodation which spills victors Chris Kirk reckons he'd be foolish not to bag a bed back into specially-dubbed Trophy House which can't stop guesting PGA Tour winners. The American star posted a second-straight 65 at the Rocket Classic to surge to the top of the boards at tis week's event in Detriot. However, looking ahead to next week and the John Deere Classic, Kirk is banking on a room at the specially-named digs near to venue TPD Deere Run. Incredibly, the six-bedroom location shared by stars during that week in Illinois has seen the winner of the tournament emerge for three-straight years. Twelve months ago, Davis Thompson stormed to success having stayed in the accommodation with JT Poston, Denny McCarthy, Ben Kohles, Greyson Sigg and Patton Kizzire. In 2022, it was Poston who came out of that specific front door every day to win the title and, in 2023, it was Sepp Straka who secured victory. Ironically, Thompson only get into the pad last year when the European Ryder Cup hero opted to move into a hotel room with his wife and new baby. It seems Kirk was the found who located the house in the first place and he's dead-set on getting a bed back for next week's tournament. After his second round at the Rocket, he explained an imminent attempt to extend the sequence as he said: 'I'm going to do my best, yeah. I'd be foolish not to stay there, that's for sure. I haven't played the John Deere the last couple of years. But I originally found that house, I guess on Airbnb, probably four years ago, something like that. 'Then I think it's JT that's gotten to know the owners of the house and has just kind of had a set booking for the year. So three years in a row the winner has stayed there. Hopefully I can make it a fourth.' Thompson knew all about it a year ago as he said: 'It's kind of crazy. I stayed in Sepp's room. Me and him may be fighting for that room next year!' Poston gave an insight to the pad and said: 'There's like six of us in there and it's fun because you come back and you're playing cards or throwing football in the backyard. It's a good way to decompress and get away from golf because the hard part of the hotel thing is you get back to the hotel and, if you're alone, you're probably thinking about golf.' Kirk may well already have a trophy to take to Illinois if he maintains his flying Rocket opening over the weekend. Slow play didn't slow his scoring and he said: 'It took us a lot longer to play. I think it was like two hours and 10 minutes to play the front and two hours and 50 minutes to play the back. So it's a little bit tough to kind of stay in a good flow and rhythm when it backs up like that. But really proud of the way I hung in there and kept hitting good shots. 'The last few days, everything has been pretty solid. I played pretty bad all year to the point where I was kind of thinking about not playing the US Open just because I was really struggling and didn't know what I was doing. But I really love Oakmont, so that was kind of why I was like: Alright, I'm going to go play and see what I can do. And I played really solid. 'I drove the ball the best I had all year that week and everything was pretty good. I think it's just one of those things where you're never as far off as you feel like you are when you're not playing very well. It's such a fine line out here. 'All the players on this tour are so good that, you miss a cut by one or two and you feel like it's the end of the world and you feel like you're the worst golfer ever and you're really not as far off as you think. I definitely feel comfortable here. It's a golf course that I like. I don't have really a great reason why.'
