The PGA Tour’s most up to date champ Jake Knapp is clearly a Tiger Woods fan, but the improbable title of Luke Donald came up as one of the players he looked up to when he was more youthful.
The 29-year-old rookie is being tipped for fame after his astounding Mexico Open win final week – which got him into The Experts and packed away him a primetime matching with Rory McIlroy at the Cognizant Classic this week.
Whereas he has been a McIlroy fan afterward in his career, within the early days at the side the self-evident title Tiger Woods, previous World No.1 Luke Donald moreover edited up.
“I was Tiger for beyond any doubt and after that I was really a huge Luke Donald fan, huge Dustin Johnson fan, so those were kind of the three folks that I looked up to,” said Knapp.
“At that point clearly over the final few a long time, a part of individuals have attempted to imitate Rory and fair all the things he does on and off the course.”
With Knapp being a huge hitter, Donald may not be the self-evident hitting the fairway icon to see up to, but the Californian says he did not pick up his measure and his quality until afterward on, so the shorter-hitting Englishman was the perfect man to take after.
“Developing up I was super undersized as a kid, and I didn’t develop until like my junior year in tall school,” Knapp clarified.
“At the time he was around World No. 1 and fair an madly great brief amusement, truly great at putting, so I attempted to require after his diversion and center on those two things, and after that as I begun to hit it more distant, begun to move more into the DJ category.”
Knapp’s all-round game certainly awed McIlroy amid their to begin with circular at PGA National, with the Northern Irishman lauding him a short time later.
“Definitely, he seem unquestionably be a star,” said McIlroy. “It looks like he’s got the total bundle.”
And after getting a first-hand look at the four-time Major winner in activity, Knapp delighted in getting a few pointers for end of the.
“I attempted to choose his brain almost a couple of. things for the following few weeks, and ideally the rest of my career, and he was truly liberal on giving exceptionally keen answers,” Knapp said of McIlroy.
“I do not think he essentially hit it his best nowadays in terms of what he anticipated. He didn’t hit a awesome shot into No. 1 and a few others, but his brief amusement is clearly awesome. You don’t get to be one of the leading players within the world without a well-rounded amusement.
“Obviously he’s a great driver of the golf ball. He rolls it well. He does everything exceptionally, exceptionally great and fair keeps it all truly tight.”
