Jake Knapp was just 11 when his idol Tiger Woods—a young golf phenom—gave him a memory of a lifetime. The year was 2006 and Woods was playing Stephen Ames, who had called Woods ‘spoiled‘ and that Woods was coming across bigger than game. Tiger, known for letting his game do the talking, delivered the perfect response at the 2006 World Matchplay tournament. He crushed Ames in just 10 holes and, with a smirk, said, “There certainly was [motivation]. I think I did all right today. I think he understands now.”
For young Knapp, watching that rivalry unfold was unforgettable — so much so that the signed memorabilia he got from Tiger remains his most prized possession to this day. Knapp not only watched Woods win at La Costa Resort, just 5 miles from his home but even followed Woods’s then-caddie, Steve Williams, for a golf ball. He got it, and still holds it very dearly, packed in the “same little plastic case sitting on my shelf at home.”
During a recent appearance on The Golfer’s Journal, Knapp revealed that he does not like his swing. We know, shocker! But how come the young golfer confessed to such a thing? Well, when asked if he was aware of Woods’s love for his swing, Knapp replied that while he had never heard Charlie actually say it, he had heard that from his caddie the next morning. Knapp smiled and mentioned Tiger Woods’s follow-up comment about the inconsistency of his swing.He added, “Yeah, I am working on it. But, um, no, I think that was pretty cool. I think just like the overall, like, I don’t know how much people have like become a fan of like my swing and my move and everything when like if only they knew how much I hate my golf swing, you know?” Knapp followed up with, “I mean I don’t actually hate my swing, but there are so many things I want to get better at. There are so many things I do that I don’t like and wish I could change or whatever.” While he agrees that he has improved his swings a lot, he still has much to work on this season.
Jake Knapp’s performance in his 2025 season
If there’s one thing about Jake Knapp, it’s that he pays proper attention to his gameplay. He even admitted this once by saying, “I go back and watch it all the time, not as much to relive the moment, but more so to better understand how I went about playing the course, maybe what my swing looked like during certain shots or things like that.” This season, Knapp competed in 7 tournaments, with his best finish being T17 at The Genesis Invitational. This respectable yet strong performance earned him $270,714.
