It was another solid round from LPGA Tour winner Cheyenne Knight on Thursday at the Cognizant Founders Cup as the 26-year-old Texan fired a 4-under 68 at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, N.J. Starting on the back nine, Knight rattled off three consecutive birdies on holes 10, 11 and 12, grabbing two more at the par-3 15th and the par-3 17th to move to 5-under and turn in 31. She faltered a bit with bogeys on Nos. 1 and 3, but steadied herself, making five pars and a birdie on the par-5 ninth to post an opening 68, her second-lowest first-round score in the event.
“Started off with three birdies in a row and I just kind of made a few more in there. I was just making like 10-, 15-footers, so it was nice to kind of get off to a hot start like that,” said Knight, who hit 11 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens. “And then I bogeyed 1 and 3. They're some tricky holes, but a little bit annoying how well I was playing but finished good. This golf course, par goes a long way, so being able to make so many birdies today definitely helped.”
This is Knight’s fifth season on the LPGA Tour and seventh start of the 2023 season. In her six previous starts this year, she has no missed cuts and has recorded one top-10 finish, a T6 at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro, as well as three additional top-20 finishes, including a tie for 18th at The Chevron Championship, her second-best career result in a major championship. As her game continues trending in the right direction, Knight is working to lean into the success, trying to learn as much as she can from each round she plays, good or bad.
“I think last year I had a really steady season as well and I've kind of just continued to get better, and how cliche as it is, try to get better every day,” said Knight, whose lone LPGA Tour victory came at 2019’s The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America. “Me and my team have a good game plan on how I can get better, and just taking each event and learning and moving forward with that and focusing on my craft is what I say. Just like mentally getting stronger and tougher each week.”
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