PGA Tour stars complain after historic round at Cognizant Classic

PGA Tour golfer Jake Knapp shot 59 in the opening round of the Cognizant Classic on Thursday. The young golfer was within an 18-foot eagle putt of tying the scoring record set by Jim Furyk in 2026 at the Travelers Championship. It’s just the 15th round of less than 60 in Tour history.

It got a lot of praise, but it also got some complaints and some cheeky comments from other golfers. Some said the course was clearly playing very easy, and others were shocked that their good rounds didn’t yield a better place on the leaderboard.

PGA Tour players react to historic 59 at Cognizant Classic

Jake Knapp still leads the Cognizant Classic by three strokes before even taking a swing in the second round at PGA National. His historic round has set him up well for the rest of the tournament, but it hasn’t been a universally loved performance. Several players have been less than positive.

Daniel Berger joked via Golf.com, “I thought I played well … but then someone shot 59. Clearly the course was not the old Bear Trap we’re used to.” Michael Kim said on social media that some course aspects made this one an easier round, but that he’s shocked he was six back after a 65.

Jordan Spieth got involved in the conversation, too. “The fairways being overseeded changes [the golf course] a lot because it’ll make the fairways softer which makes them wider, and then around the greens it’s significantly easier than the dormant Bermuda,” Spieth said. “You’re looking at easily a stroke a round on just the change in the grass types in the fairway.”

Billy Horschel, who went viral for pushing an alligator off the course, said that he wouldn’t have been surprised if the first round set a scoring record because of how easy the course and elements were on Thursday.

Knapp even joked that he may have shot an impressive 59, but he’ll forever think about how close he was to that 58, or even a lower score. He did narrowly miss the eagle putt on the 18th hole for what would’ve been a 58 opening round, but he’s also commenting on the fact that he wasn’t perfect all day long.

He’ll get the chance to outdo himself and try and go for that record later today during the second round of the Cognizant Classic in Florida. Maybe if he does get the record, there won’t be as many complaints this time around.