After one round of action at the 2025 Cognizant Classic, Jake Knapp is sitting on a score that would be low enough to win this tournament most years. Through 18 holes, however, it is clear that this year at PGA National is nothing like those in the past. Knapp fired the 15th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history on Thursday with a 12-under 59 to open a four-stroke lead over Daniel Berger, Russell Henley and Sami Valimaki.
Knapp was hardly the only player to take advantage of the conditions and course set up. Rickie Fowler found some form after a tumultuous West Coast Swing and opened his tournament with a 64 while Jordan Spieth, his good friend and playing partner the first two days, was only one worse with a 65 of his own.
Only six prior rounds out of 72 held at PGA National boasted a scoring average below 70 with four of those coming the last two seasons. While the scoring has improved significantly over the last few years, PGA National has never seen a day like Thursday where the field came in with an average just a hair higher than 68.50.