Jordan Spieth, Jake Knapp fall short of Arnold Palmer Invitational via Aon Swing 5 – PGA TOUR
LeaderboardScheduleSearchMenuMoreCognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches 1T2T2T4T4T6T6T6T9T9T11T11T11T11T11Quick LinksLeaderboardTOURCASTFantasy GolfStatsTickets6 Min ReadAon Better DecisionsAChange Text SizeJordan Spieth wanted to be at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge for the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. He has fared well in recent years there. He appreciates Palmer’s legacy. Like Palmer, he has gained fans partly through on-course vulnerability. So he added the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches to his playing schedule, making his first TOUR appearance at PGA National Resort in a bid to earn a spot at Bay Hill via the Aon Swing 5.Spieth nearly pulled it off, but he fell a bit short. Spieth carded four straight rounds under par at PGA National Resort (The Champion Course) for a T9 finish, another positive step in his comeback from a wrist injury that sidelined him for several months last fall. It’s his second top-10 finish (T4 at WM Phoenix Open) in his last three starts. The Texan finished 14-under at the historically difficult Cognizant Classic, a score he would’ve happily accepted early last week, he said. But ultimately it was three strokes shy of qualifying for Bay Hill via the Aon Swing 5, which meant he departed South Florida with angst. “I really do feel like I’m playing good golf at about 60% of the control tee to green that I’m capable of doing and still able to come to a very challenging golf course and hit nice shots and shoot under-par rounds,” Spieth said Sunday. “I’m one swing away on Friday from having a chance to win, and that was a 9-iron, which is just a 1-in-100 kind of chunk (he made triple bogey at the par-3 17th Friday). I feel really good … I’m bummed not to be there next week. It’s been a great, great place for me, and I really wish I was getting that start.”Fifteen players secured their spots in the Arnold Palmer Invitational via the Aon Next 10 and Aon Swing 5. The Aon Next 10 for the Arnold Palmer Invitational is comprised of the top 10 players on the season-long FedExCup standings, not otherwise exempt. The Aon Swing 5 for the Arnold Palmer Invitational includes the top five players in FedExCup points across the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld and the Cognizant Classic, not otherwise exempt.Joining Spieth in the category of players to not qualify for Bay Hill along with Jake Knapp, who factored all week at PGA National Resort but was derailed by one hole Sunday. Joe Highsmith had secured the Cognizant title by the time the final group reached the 72nd hole (Highsmith carded a final-round 64 to storm from four back), but Aon Swing 5 drama lingered as 54-hole leader Knapp reached the green. In so many ways, this Cognizant Classic was the week of Knapp, who shot a 59 in Thursday’s opening round, but he missed a spot at Bay Hill by a stroke after a final-round 72 at PGA National for a T6 finish. Knapp missed by a razor’s edge, as he faced a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th Sunday to move into a T4 for the tournament and into a T5 on the Aon Swing 5. (He would have tied McGreevy for the fifth spot, and the Aon Swing 5 expands in the event of a tie.) Yet Knapp’s putt slid by, a frustrating end to a promising event with an opening score that once seemed inconceivable at water-logged PGA National. Knapp will always cherish the week, he said afterward, but he wishes he could ride the positive vibes a few hours north to Orlando. Like Spieth, he knew an angsty Sunday evening would be in store.Knapp traced the sting to the par-4 11th hole Sunday, where his second shot landed just short of the green and banked into the pond, leading to a triple-bogey 7 as he had difficulties playing from the water. The ball wasn’t completely submerged; after some investigation, Knapp removed his right shoe and attempted to excavate his ball. His first splash shot advanced into the rough, but barely, and fell back into the water. His next attempt stayed in the rough; he chipped to 9 feet and two-putted for triple bogey.Jake Knapp cards costly triple bogey from the water at Cognizant ClassicAfter the watery adventure, Knapp fell from the solo lead into sixth place, quickly moving into chase mode. Despite the outcome, Knapp had no regrets about his decision to play from the water rather than take a drop before the hazard with a penalty stroke.“Even now, I don’t take it back,” Knapp said afterward. “It’s just one of those shots you just have to end up hitting a little bit harder than I did … Could see kind of the top quarter of the ball, figured I could just kind of blast it out for the most part, and didn’t hit any of them really hard enough, unfortunately.”Knapp was looking to play the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the second straight year; he qualified for the event’s 2024 edition on the strength of his victory at the Mexico Open two weeks prior.Spieth, who carded T4 finishes at Bay Hill in 2021 and 2023, was eager to put his revamped game to the test on one of professional golf’s most rigorous tests. He believes his comeback from wrist injury is progressing ahead of schedule, and most importantly for the former world No. 1 who has won just twice in the last eight years, he believes that good form is more sustainable than it was in recent years. He’s already looking forward to testing his game at THE PLAYERS Championship in two weeks and at the following week’s Valspar Championship. But after finishing outside the top 50 on the 2024 FedExCup and standing outside the Aon Next 10 or Aon Swing 5 after the Cognizant Classic, he can’t play at Bay Hill.It’s a disappointing chip that will perhaps offer fuel to the next phase of his comeback.“Right now I’m on the right track back. I’m progressing, and I know that I’m on the right track,” Spieth said Sunday. “I’m not searching for answers. That’s a big difference. That just means it’ll come. But the problem is I’ve been so far off for so many years that if that’s 10,000 reps, it might take 20,000 to be where I want to be. But I’m already 15,000 in. So hopefully it just continues to get better. No limitations on the wrist. Being able to hold the club in the right place going back is a big deal, too.”Aldrich Potgieter led the Aon Swing 5 for the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the strength of a runner-up finish at the Mexico Open. Joining him in the category are Jacob Bridgeman, Ben Griffin, Isaiah Salinda and Max McGreevy. Bridgeman earned his spot with a flourish Sunday, closing in 7-under 64 at PGA National to vault 22 spots on the Cognizant Classic leaderboard and into an eventual tie for second. It marked the second-year TOUR member’s first career top-10 finish, an opportune time for it. Griffin notched back-to-back T4 finishes at the Mexico Open and the Cognizant. Salinda finished solo third at the Mexico Open, and McGreevy shared fourth place at the Cognizant after a T25 in Mexico.The Aon Next 10 for the Arnold Palmer Invitational includes Nick Taylor, Maverick McNealy, Harris English, Joe Highsmith, J.J. Spaun, Brian Campbell, Michael Kim, Patrick Rodgers, Daniel Berger and Sam Stevens. If the final field includes less than 72 players, the Aon Next 10 will extend beyond the No. 10 spot to fill the field. (Lucas Glover stands No. 11 on the Aon Next 10, followed by Andrew Novak.) Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches1T2T2T4T4T6T6T6T9T9T11T11T11T11T11View LeaderboardCopyright © 2025 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved.PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, and the Swinging Golfer design are registered trademarks. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission.
