Jake Knapp knew he was on the verge of something special early on Thursday, with a run of five straight birdies to open his round at the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

In the end, he joined one of golf’s most elite clubs.

Knapp — an Estancia High and UCLA product who is the 99th-ranked player in the world — joined the PGA Tour’s sub-60 club, shooting a bogey-free 59 in the opening round at PGA National. It was the 15th time that someone has broken 60 in a PGA Tour event.

“It’s just one of those days where everything was kind of clicking,” Knapp said.

Knapp finished one shot off the tour scoring record of 58, done by Jim Furyk in the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship. Knapp became the 14th player to shoot a sub-60 round; Furyk is the only one to do it twice. The feat has become more frequent, with nine such rounds since 2016.

Knapp had a putt for eagle at the par-5 18th that would have tied Furyk’s mark of 58 — 18 feet, 8 inches was the measurement given by the PGA Tour. The putt didn’t have the speed and he tapped in for birdie.

And yes, he was thinking about 58 — especially after a long birdie putt at the 15th put him at 11 under for the round.

“I stepped up on the 16 tee and just kind of told my caddie, ‘Let’s play 2 under in the last three,’ ” Knapp said. “‘Let’s do what we’re supposed to do.’ ”

He had to settle for 59, if a 59 can ever actually be settled for.

“I thought I played well,” said Daniel Berger, who had a bogey-free round of 8-under 63, “but then someone shot 59.”

Knapp’s 12-birdie round on the par-71 course also broke the previous Cognizant scoring record of 61, first done in 2012 by Brian Harman and matched in 2021 by Matt Jones.

There was barely any wind, which is rare for South Florida, and PGA National was largely defenseless in the morning session. The closest there was to any trouble was around the seventh hole, where Billy Horschel — a Florida Gator from his college days — used a club to poke at an actual alligator that was catching some sun near the green and got it to retreat back to its watery home.

Even wildlife didn’t deter scoring in Round 1. Berger, Russell Henley and Sami Valimaki all shot 63, Rickie Fowler was among those at 64, Jordan Spieth — continuing his comeback after wrist surgery — shot 65, and Horschel, Zach Johnson and Camilo Villegas were among those who opened with a 66.

LPGA Tour

A Lim Kim tamed swirling winds to shoot a 4-under 68 and take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.

Kim had five birdies but bogeyed the par-5 16th in tough windy conditions on the Tanjong course at Sentosa Golf Club.

Charley Hull of England was in second place after a bogey-free 69, followed by four players tied for third with 70s, including China’s Ruoning Yin and Australia’s Minjee Lee.