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PGA Tour rookie Jake Knapp wins Mexico Open

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PGA Tour rookie Jake Knapp wins Mexico Open

PGA Tour rookie Jake Knapp is now a PGA Tour winner, taking home the Mexico Open on Sunday after shooting 19-under for the week, beating fellow rookie Sami Valimaki by two strokes.

Knapp started the round with a commanding four-shot lead, but let it slip away as his driver — the foundation of his first three rounds — betrayed him. Knapp hit two fairways in 18 holes on Sunday, and is the first PGA Tour player since 1983 to hit two or fewer fairways in his final round and win. Knapp hit 33 of 39 fairways Thursday-Saturday.

Still, he secured the win after putting his drive on 18 into a left fairway bunker. Valimaki, needing eagle to force the playoff, went for broke and missed — his monster drive hit the cart path right and settled underneath a fence. Valimaki immediately began asking how much of a cushion he had over the trio in third place. A few moments later Knapp had a tap-in par and lifted his arms in triumph.

“Just grinding it out,” Knapp told NBC of his final round.

Knapp, 29, is just that — a professional golf grinder. The skill was always there — during high school, he shot a 58 on his home course and then a 61 during U.S. Open qualifying, and eventually matriculated to UCLA — but he struggled to gain traction upon turning pro in 2016.

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Three years ago he did not have status on any tour and was working as a security guard at a nightclub. But he used conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour to finish 13th in the season-long standings in 2023, and claim his PGA Tour card for this season.

He tied for third at the Farmers Insurance Open last month, and was T28 at the WM Phoenix Open. Then he followed up his opening-round 67 at Vidanta with a 64 on Friday and a 63 on Saturday, taking a four-shot lead over Valimaki into the final round. Only three players were within seven shots of the lead.

Knapp, No. 125 in the world per DataGolf.com, stumbled out of the gate with bogeys on Nos. 1 and 3, though, and quickly found himself in a tie with Valimaki, who had a birdie and eagle on the front nine.

Knapp eventually steadied himself, gaining a stroke on his playing partner when he parred No. 13 and Valimaki bogeyed, and then giving himself another when he birdied on the Par-5 14th and Valimaki settled for par.

Knapp takes home $1.458 million for the win. He’ll be in the Masters and PGA Championship, as well as The Players Championship next month. He’s also now fully exempt through the 2026 PGA Tour season and will be in all signature events for the rest of this year.

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(Photo of Jake Knapp: Hector Vivas / Getty Images)

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Try This Quiz on Thrilling Books That Became Popular Movies

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Try This Quiz on Thrilling Books That Became Popular Movies

Welcome to Great Adaptations, the Book Review’s regular multiple-choice quiz about printed works that have gone on to find new life as movies, television shows, theatrical productions and more. This week’s challenge highlights thrillers first published as novels (or graphic novels) that were adapted into popular films. Just tap or click your answers to the five questions below. And scroll down after you finish the last question for links to the books and their screen versions.

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Test Your Knowledge of the Authors and Events That Helped Shape the United States

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Test Your Knowledge of the Authors and Events That Helped Shape the United States

Welcome to Lit Trivia, the Book Review’s regular quiz about books, authors and literary culture. In honor of Gen. George Washington’s birthday on Feb. 22, this week’s super-size challenge is focused on the literature and history related to the American Revolution. In the 10 multiple-choice questions below, tap or click on the answer you think is correct. After the last question, you’ll find links to exhibits, books and other materials related to this intense chapter in the country’s story, including an award-winning biography of the general and first U.S. president.

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Video: How Much Do You Know About Romance Books?

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Video: How Much Do You Know About Romance Books?

Let’s play romance roulette. No genre has dominated the books world in the last few years. Like romance, it accounts for the biggest percentage of book sales, their avid fan bases. Everyone has been talking about romance as a Book Review editor and as a fan of the genre myself, I put together a to z glossary of 101 terms that you should know if you want to understand the world of romance are cinnamon roll. You may think a cinnamon roll is a delicious breakfast treat, but in a romance novel, this refers to a typically male character who is so sweet and tender and precious that you just want to protect him and his beautiful heart from the world. Ooh, a rake. This is basically the Playboy of historical romance. He defies societal rules. He drinks, he gambles. He’s out on the town all night and is a very prolific lover with a bit of a reputation as a ladies’ man. FEI these are super strong, super sexy, super powerful, immortal, fairy like creatures. One of my favorite discoveries in terms that I learned was stern brunch daddy. A lot of daddy’s usually a male love interest who seems very intimidating and alpha, but then turns out to be a total softie who just wants to make his love interest brunch. I think there’s a misconception that because these books can follow these typical patterns, that they can be predictable and boring. But I think what makes a really great romance novel is the way that these writers use the tropes in interesting ways, or subvert them. If you can think of it, there’s probably a romance novel about it. Oops, there’s only one bed. This is one of my personal favorite tropes is a twist on forced proximity. Characters find themselves in very close quarters, where inevitably sparks start to fly. Why choose is the porkulus dose of the romance world. Sometimes the best way to resolve a love triangle is by turning it into a circle, where everyone is invited to play. Oops, we lost one spice level. There’s a really wide spectrum. You can range from really low heat or no spice, what might also be called kisses. Only then you start to get into what we call closed door or fade to Black. These books go right up to the moment of intimacy, and then you get into what we call open door, which is more explicit. And sometimes these can get very high heat or spicy and even start verging into kink. There’s one thing that almost every romance novel has in common. It’s that no matter what the characters get up to in the end, it ends with a happily ever after. I say almost every romance novel. Sometimes you’re just happy for now.

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