Cognizant Classic Round 2: Jake Knapp Comes Back to Earth and Keeps the Lead

Nobody follows a 59 with another 59. The real question on Friday at PGA National was whether Jake Knapp could follow it with anything that kept him in front, and the answer was yes, barely.

Knapp shot a 1-under 70, 11 shots worse than his record opening round, and still leads the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches at 13-under 129. Matthieu Pavon, the Frenchman who won at Torrey Pines last year, fired a 64 and sits one back at 12 under. Daniel Berger, Michael Kim, Doug Ghim and Jesper Svensson are tied for third at 11-under 131, and Zach Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Taylor Montgomery are another shot behind at 10 under.

The Morning After

Knapp started on the par-5 10th and birdied it, which felt like a continuation of Thursday. It was not. He then went 10 holes without another birdie, and a bunker on the 16th cost him a bogey along the way.

The round turned strange on the par-5 3rd. His second shot came to rest just right of the green, caught a sprinkler cap and caromed roughly 40 yards away. Knapp pitched it to 8 feet and made the birdie anyway, then birdied the next hole too. Just when it looked like the engine had restarted, his tee shot on the par-4 6th found the water and he walked off with a double bogey. He steadied himself and closed with a 15-foot birdie on his final hole to keep his nose in front.

"I've never had to follow up a 59 at a tournament before," Knapp said, per the AP. "It's all new to me."

He was honest about the drop-off. "Obviously, today wasn't as great," he said, adding that the ball-striking that felt automatic on Thursday produced "a couple of wayward shots, but nothing too concerning."

Pavon Makes His Move

The round of the day among the contenders belonged to Pavon. His 64 vaulted him up the board and briefly gave him the outright lead before a birdie putt on his last hole slid by, leaving him one behind. For a player who already knows how to close on the PGA TOUR, sitting one back of a leader who just watched his margin shrink from four to one is about as good a 36-hole position as you can ask for.

Ghim matched the hot start of Thursday's chasers with a 63, the low number among the group at 11 under, while Kim posted 66 and Svensson, a rookie who earned his card through the DP World Tour, added a 67.

Berger Runs Out of Gas

Berger looked like the man to catch Knapp early. The hometown favorite, who grew up near PGA National, went out in 31 and briefly shared the lead. Then the birdies stopped completely. A bogey at the 11th after playing out of muck and weeds was his only real blemish, but a 68 felt like a missed opportunity given where he stood at the turn.

"I just kind of lost a little steam on the back nine," Berger said. "I don't know if I didn't eat enough food and started to feel a little bit off there."

Old Hands and a Kid With a Card

At 49, Zach Johnson turned back the clock with a 66 to reach 10 under, in a tie for seventh with Fowler (68) and Montgomery. The former Ryder Cup captain is not here for nostalgia.

On the other end of the age spectrum, Luke Clanton shot a 5-under 66 and is four back at 9 under. The 21-year-old Florida State junior made the cut comfortably, which locked up enough points to earn a PGA TOUR card once his college season wraps after the NCAA Championships in late May. Clanton already has two runner-up finishes and two other top 10s on TOUR as an amateur, so none of this is a fluke.

Jordan Spieth had the most chaotic finish of anyone. He holed a 55-footer for birdie on the 16th, then dumped his tee shot into the hazard on the par-3 17th, missed a 25-foot par putt and the comeback, and made triple bogey. A birdie on 18 salvaged a 70 and left him six behind at 7 under. Spieth is in this field after he did not receive a sponsor exemption into the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

A Weekend for Deep Shooters Only

The wind picked up on Friday, and players noted putts that hit the center of the cup and still burned the edge. But the scoring was so deep that the cut fell at 5 under, and only 68 players made it to the weekend. Joe Highsmith snuck in right on the number, holing a 5-foot par putt on the 18th after his birdie attempt ran past.

Knapp knows what kind of weekend this is going to be. "You can't overpower it or anything like that," he said. "Just got to take what it gives you."

The leader has gone from a four-shot cushion to a one-shot edge, with eight players within three shots. Saturday at PGA National is no longer about the 59. It is about who handles the water, the Bear Trap and the pressure best over the next 18 holes.

Catch up on Thursday in our Round 1 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 2 story (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 2 story and leaderboard), AP, The Golf News Net. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.