The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Rookie Knapp holds on to win Mexico Open
PGA Tour rookie Jake Knapp lost a four-shot lead in seven holes and then held it together with a remarkable short game Sunday, closing with an evenpar 71 to win the Mexico Open at Vallarta Vidanta, and earn a trip to the Masters.
Knapp, from Costa Mesa who grew up playing with his parents in Palm Springs and played collegiately at UCLA, said he still sends a text after each round to his grandfather, who died last year, and this message might require a lot of detail.
He didn’t hit a fairway until the eighth hole and found only two the entire round. He never lost the lead, but twice allowed Sami Valimaki of Finland to catch him. They were tied with six holes to play until Knapp took over, getting up-and-down on four of the next five holes, one of them for birdie.
“I woke up in the middle of the night and I could feel my heart racing,” he said. “I was more excited to get things going. I wasn’t worried about performing — maybe I should have been.”
Tee-to-green, Knapp had his worst performance. But he spent extra time Saturday night on his short game, and it won the day for him.
“We talked about it last night ... if the ball-striking is off, we’re going to have to trust our hands. And we did that, grinding out some pretty tough pars,” he said.
It wasn’t easy until the end.
Another big par save on the par-3 17th gave Knapp a two-shot lead going to the par-5 closing hole. Valimaki, needing eagle to have a chance, hit his drive down the right side, off a cart path and it nestled next to a boundary fence. He had to take a penalty drop, effectively ending his chances.
Knapp, who finished at 19-under 265, won in his fifth start of his rookie season. Along with winning $1,458,000 and moving
into the top 10 in the Fedex Cup, Knapp, 29, is headed to the Masters and PGA Championship. He also gets into the remaining five $20 million signature events, starting with Bay Hill in two weeks.
Playing golf at the highest level was a dream Knapp shared with his grandfather.
“Papa, thank you,” he said, pointing to the sky as he walked off the 18th green.
Fox, Sabonis lead Kings over Clippers
De’aaron Fox scored 33 points, Domantas Sabonis had his Nba-leading 20th triple-double and Sacramento beat the Clippers, 123-107, handing them their first two-game losing streak since December.
Sabonis finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists. Harrison Barnes added 22 points for the Kings, who won their third in a row.
Norman Powell led the Clippers with 21 points in his first start of the season in place of Paul George, who sat out with a sore left knee. Kawhi Leonard added 20 points, as did James Harden.
• The Atlanta Hawks have lost All-star point guard Trae Young for at least four weeks with a torn ligament in his left pinkie finger. Young was hurt during Friday night’s loss to Toronto and will have surgery today at the
Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
FOOTBALL Bengals tag wide receiver Higgins
The Cincinnati Bengals placed the franchise tag on receiver Tee Higgins, which likely will keep him with the team at least one more season, the team said Monday.
If the Bengals can’t reach a long-term agreement with the 25-year-old Higgins before July 15, he’ll play the 2024 season with the Bengals for a salary of $21.8 million, which is the franchise tag amount for receivers.
Higgins has played in 58 regular-season games for Cincinnati and has 257 receptions for 3,684 yards and 24 TDS. He had more than 1,000 receiving yards in 2021 and ’22, becoming one of five players in team history to reach that mark multiple times in his first three seasons.
• Bail was set at $5,000 on Monday for former NFL star Richard Sherman following his weekend arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence. Sherman was pulled over just before 2 a.m. Saturday for driving 79 mph (127 kmh) in a 60 mph (97 kmh) zone on Interstate 405 south of Seattle.
The three-time All-pro cornerback spent the weekend in the King County Jail in Seattle. Sherman waived his right to appear at a bail hearing Monday.
Forsberg carries Predators over Ducks
Filip Forsberg broke a tie early in the third period and had an assist to help the Nashville Predators beat the Ducks 4-2 late on Sunday night for their fifth straight victory.
Kevin Lankinen stopped 30 shots for Nashville, which has 18 road victories, tied for third-most in the NHL.
Brett Leason had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who have lost three straight and four of five.