Jake Knapp WITB (6th June, 2025) - What's In The Bag? The RBC Canadian Open @ TPC Toronto Osprey Valley

Driver: TaylorMade Qi35 (9° @8.25) with a Project X HZRDUS Prototype 70 TX shaft

Mini Driver: PXG Secret Weapon (13°) with a Project X HZRDUS T1100 95 6.5 shaft

5 Wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18°) with a Project X HZRDUS T1100 95 6.5 shaft

Irons: Titleist T200 (3i), PXG 0317 CB (4i), PXG 0317 ST (5i-PW) with KBS Tour C-Taper 130 X (4i-PW) shafts

Wedges: PXG Sugar Daddy II (52°), Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (56°-12D), WedgeWorks (60°) with KBS Tour C-Taper 130 X (52, 56), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125 shafts

Putter: PXG Prototype

Ball & Grips: Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot with Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips

Who is Jake Knapp and WITB for the RBC Canadian Open, 2025?

(…and why does he keep stealing the headlines at the 2025 RBC Canadian Open?)

That’s Jake Knapp—UCLA Bruin, serial coffee addict, Anaheim Ducks super-fan, and the guy currently sitting T-4 at this very moment at TPC Toronto.

Born in Costa Mesa on 31 May 1994, Knapp turned pro in 2016 after a solid but not exactly Jack-Nicklaus-level college career (72.8 scoring average and a win at the Husky Invitational—not bad, not bronze-statue material either). A stint on the Mackenzie (a.k.a. PGA Tour Canada) yielded three titles, a pile of Air Canada points, and precisely zero charter jets. Then came 2021–22, when the pandemic gobbled up his status and his savings. Solution? He became a nightclub bouncer, developing “core strength” by hauling frat bros out the back door—sure beats kettlebells.

Fast-forward to February 2024: Knapp wins the Mexico Open at Vidanta for his maiden PGA TOUR victory—19-under, $1.46 million, and one shark-level grin on Sunday night. Three months later he fires a 59 in the opening round of the Cognizant Classic, joining golf’s sub-60 freak show and ensuring his Wikipedia page now needs a scrolling bar.

Knapp vs. Canada: A Very Maple-Flavoured History

• 2023 (Oakdale GC) – missed the cut by a shot (+1) and learned that Canada’s national animal is not, in fact, the mulligan.

• 2024 (Hamilton G&CC) – skipped the field entirely while Robert MacIntyre stole the Mountie-worthy trophy. (Knapp was busy counting pesos from Vidanta.)

• 2025 (TPC Toronto / Osprey Valley) – opens with a 63 (highlight: birdie-birdie-eagle slap to the field on holes 6-8) and sits at -8 through 36 holes, just four off the Del Solar/Olesen circus at the top.

Why TPC Toronto Might Actually Like Him

Osprey Valley’s North Course is a 7,389-yard, par-70 roller-coaster of fescue, rumpled fairways, and enough wind to exfoliate your face. The routing insists on carry-everything fly-it-all-the-way approaches thanks to perched greens and shaved run-offs. In other words, it’s tailor-made for a dude averaging 306 yards and launching mid-irons into low Earth orbit.

The Bag, The Myth, The Legend (≈ 600 words)

For 2025 Knapp ditched the sensible Ping sticks of his bouncer-era arsenal and embraced full-send mode. Comparing 2024 to 2025 is like replacing a reliable Corolla with a Twin-Turbo Supra and saying, “What could possibly go wrong?”

Driver: TaylorMade Qi35 (9° @ 8.25) | Project X HZRDUS Prototype 70 TX

2024 note: Goodbye Ping G425 LST (9° @ 7.5) + HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5. Hello extra ball speed, lower spin, and a shaft profile so stout it makes rebar jealous. witb.com
Course fit: Qi35’s carbon chassis keeps weight low-forward, shaving spin for windy Osprey cross-breezes; the Prototype’s mid launch keeps tee balls from getting wind-whipped into Ontario farmland.

Mini-Driver: PXG Secret Weapon (13°) | Project X HZRDUS T1100 95 6.5

Remember the BRNR-Mini he gamed last year? Yeah, he turbo-charged it. A bonded T1100 95-gram telephone pole lets him pepper the tight doglegs at 285 with a cut that lands like a bored labrador—one hop, sit.

5-Wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18°) | Project X HZRDUS T1100 95 6.5

Swapped in for the old 3-wood. The hotter Qi10 face means he can hit stinger-hybrids that still hold those elevated North-Course greens.

Irons:

• Titleist T200 (3-iron) | KBS Tour C-Taper 130 X – Tee-box utility for 260-yard par 4s.

• PXG 0317 CB (4-iron) | KBS Tour C-Taper 130 X

• PXG 0317 ST (5-PW) | KBS Tour C-Taper 130 X
  2024’s mixed PXG 0311 X GEN4 + 0211 ST combo is gone; the new split-set tightens spin gaps, crucial for Osprey’s half-wedge approach shots. witb.com

Wedges:

• PXG Sugar Daddy II 52° | KBS Tour C-Taper 130 X

• Titleist Vokey SM9 56°-12D | KBS Tour C-Taper 130 X

• WedgeWorks 60° (T-grind) | Nippon Modus3 WV 125
  Same lofts as ’24, but the grind change on the 60° (T-grind = super-thin sole) means he can nip flop-shots off Osprey’s shaved surrounds without gouging Canada’s precious fescue ecosystem.

Putter: PXG Prototype

Last year’s Spider Tour is now gathering cobwebs. The milled-face PXG suits firmer, faster Bent-Poa mix greens north of Toronto.

Ball & Grips: Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot | Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Same as ever—some traditions shouldn’t be mocked.

Why This Setup Loves TPC Toronto

1. Wind-cheating shafts – every HZRDUS or C-Taper is a telephone pole. Lower launch + low spin = pierce the prevailing south-westerlies.

2. High-toe wedges & tight grinds – ideal for Osprey’s closely mown run-offs that act like a Canadian version of Pinehurst.

3. Split-set irons – flighted long-irons (T200 hollow bodies) for the 245-yard par-3 8th; muscle-backs for laser-guided 150-yarders.

4. Mini-driver – 13° club slots perfectly into holes like No. 4 (335 yards, center-line bunker) where full driver is insanity but 3-wood spins too much into the wind.

Life, Biography & Masters Misadventures (≈ 600 words)

Between nightclub brawls and PGA TOUR champagne, Knapp’s résumé reads like a Hollywood script some intern turned down for being “too unbelievable.” Raised in a middle-class Southern California family, he learned golf at Mesa Verde CC where the dress code is more flip-flop than FootJoy. He was an AJGA All-American, qualified for the 2015 U.S. Open, and promptly missed the cut—because nothing builds character like a Friday flight home.

UCLA offered a history major and four years of sunshine; Knapp counter-offered a Husky Invitational title, T-2 at the Gifford Collegiate, and a reputation for hitting driver on holes designed for 3-iron. After college came mini-tour squalor, Canadian slogs, and a Korn Ferry promotion via a 13th-place points finish in 2023. He kept a night shift at a Newport bar, checking IDs by dusk and grinding wedge work by dawn.

The pay-off:

• 2024 Mexico Open champion – first trip inside the ropes where fans chanted “Knapp-Time!” and meant it.

• 2025 Cognizant Classic – 59 – tied his name to the likes of Furyk and Duval in the Sub-60 Club.

Masters Invitational: Augusta’s Annual Humbling

Earning a Masters invite via that Mexico win felt dreamy—until Augusta spat him out T-55 (+13) in April 2025. One round of 78, two balls into Rae’s Creek, zero green jackets. Still, for a guy who was checking IDs two years earlier, “lowlight reels at Augusta” counts as a good problem.

What did he learn? That Amen Corner is allergic to spinny mid-irons and that you can’t out-putt bentgrass that’s been waxed like an F1 car. Which brings us back to his 2025 gear tweaks: lower-spin driver, firmer-feeling PXG blades, and a raw-face 60° designed to grab on glassy greens—all direct responses to lessons from Augusta carnage.

2024 vs 2025 WITB – The Full Glow-Up

Every switch aims to tighten dispersion—a fancy way of saying “stop painting Canada’s moose-infested rough.” The C-Taper shafts stay (Knapp says he likes feeling his forearms ache after a 6-iron). But the driver/mini duo shaved 250 rpm of spin and added 2 mph ball speed in testing, which is exactly what you want when Osprey’s fairways kick like concrete.

Course-Condition Engineering

Augusta taught him about firm, elevated greens; Osprey gives similar vibes. The thin-sole WedgeWorks 60°—new for ’25—lets him open the face without adding bounce, perfect for tight lies. Qi35’s low-spin head means he can ride tail-winds on the 625-yard par-5 12th and actually reach in two. And the Secret Weapon mini with that 95-gram T1100 is basically a wind spear—throw it high, watch it hold its line.

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