Phoenix, Arizona — After three rounds of play on the Gold Course at Wigwam Golf Resort, UCLA Bruins alum Jake Knapp separated himself from the field, firing the low round of the week, an eight-birdie 65, to take a four-stroke lead into the final round.  

Despite leading by two heading into the day, Knapp made a slight adjustment on Thursday that ended up paying dividends.

“I actually switched back to an old driver shaft today because I wasn’t really driving it as well as I would have liked,” said the 24-year old. “It worked out well today, I drove it well and I got the putter rolling which was nice.”

Knapp struck early and often. Battling for position with fellow long-ball hitter Jamie Sadlowski for most of the day, the Costa Mesa, California native started red-hot, making four birdies in his opening five holes.  

“Anytime you can get started hot like that is nice,” said Knapp, who qualified for the U.S. Open in 2015. “On a course like this with how firm it is, course management is really important and that’s somewhere I’ve really improved, leaving myself in good areas on par-5s and not short-siding myself.”

Two years ago, Knapp lapped the field, claiming medallist honours by seven strokes at Mackenzie Tour Q-School in San Jacinto, California, firing 16-under over four days to beat current PGA TOUR players Cameron Davis, Chase Wright and Wyndham Clark.

Sitting at the same number as he did in 2017, this time around through just three days, Knapp will once again play with Jamie Sadlowski and Will Zaratoris in the final round, a grouping that combined for 21 birdies and an eagle on Thursday.

“Playing with Jamie (Sadlowski) and Will (Zaratoris), we were all making a bunch of birdies,” said Knapp. “When you’re playing with guys like that (who are) playing well, it’s easy to build off their momentum and keep it going low.”

With a win on Friday, Knapp would become the first player to win medallist honours at Mackenzie Tour Q-School twice.