UCLA junior Jake Knapp Monday-qualifies for Farmers Insurance Open
2/3/2015 | by Conner Penfold of AmateurGolf.com
With a 7-under 65 at El Camino Country Club, Costa Mesa, Calif. native Jake Knapp was one of two amateurs in the field at Torrey Pines
Update: Knapp missed the cut on Friday, shooting 73 and 72 to miss the weekend by two strokes.
LA JOLLA, Calif. — UCLA junior Jake Knapp shot seven-under 65 at El Camino Country Club to successfully Monday-qualify for the Farmers Insurance Open, held this week at Torrey Pines.
This was Knapp's fourth attempt to play in a PGA TOUR event, having tried for the Farmers Insurance Open the previous three years, including his senior year at Estancia High School in Costa Mesa, Calif. when he made it through pre-qualifying but struggled on Monday.
"My approach shots were solid all day and I gave myself a ton of opportunities for birdies," said Knapp, who totaled eight birdies on the day.
The third-year Bruin was one of four players to shoot 65, with all four punching their ticket to the PGA TOUR's fifth event of 2015.
Having looked at last year's qualifying number, which was also seven-under, Knapp knew he needed some birdies down the stretch.
"I had that number in the back of my head all day and then I birdied 15 and 17 to get to seven-under," Knapp said. "Once I finished I was really excited."
Knapp was one of the earlier players to finish, and was admittedly nervous having to wait around and see if he would get a chance at playing in a PGA TOUR event as an amateur.
"As I excited as I wanted to be, I had to keep myself ready to get in a playoff," he said. "I had about five hours to kill so I actually went bowling for an hour or two."
Knapp's entrance into Torrey Pines this week came on the heels of some spectacular play from a fellow Pac-12 junior, Arizona State's Jon Rahm who tied for fifth at last week's Waste Management Phoenix Open playing on a sponsor's exemption.
San Diego State golfer and 2014 U.S. Amateur winner Gunn Yang, who went to Torrey Pines High School, was in this week on a sponsor's exemption, as well.
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