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

Knapp — the No. 99 player in golf’s current world rankings — joined the PGA Tour’s sub-60 club on Thursday, 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; it has been done 15 times, with Furyk the one who has carded such a round twice.

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 eagle putt didn’t have the speed and he tapped in for 59.

Pro football

Chiefs tight end Kelce plans to play next season >> Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce plans to play next season rather than retire.

The 35-year-old Kelce had been mulling whether to return for a 13th season. But the four-time All-Pro made his feelings clear in a text to Pat McAfee that the host read during “The Pat McAfee Show.”

“My dawg!!! I’m coming back for sure,” the four-time All-Pro wrote, according to McAfee. “Gonna try to get to the best shape I’ve been this offseason and get back to the mountaintop. Got a real bad taste in my mouth about how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle. I can’t go out like that!!!!”

The Chiefs’ quest to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls ended with a 40-22 loss to the Eagles on Feb. 9.

Hunter won’t work out at combine >> Two-way star Travis Hunter said he won’t work out at the NFL scouting combine this week.

The Heisman Trophy winner might play both cornerback and wide receiver in the NFL after doing the same at Colorado.

Hunter said during his media availability that it will be up to the team that drafts him to decide his primary position but that he hoped he would be allowed to line up on both sides of the ball.

He’ll wait until Colorado’s Pro Day in March to give everyone a glimpse of his uncanny skills.

College athletics

Mountain West Conference seeks mediation over ‘poaching’ lawsuit >> The Mountain West Conference said it is seeking mediation in the lawsuit the Pac-12 filed against it in an attempt to avoid paying $55 million in “poaching” fees for bringing five Mountain West teams into its own league.

The Pac-12 and some of the schools it is adding filed lawsuits last year, claiming the poaching clause it agreed to when it signed a scheduling agreement for its football teams for last season was invalid.

The clause called for payments to the Mountain West of $10 million for the first team that left, with the amount growing by $500,000 for every additional team. That was on top of the $17 million-plus exit fees schools were responsible for as part of a different agreement.

Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Boise State are all set to join the Pac-12 starting in 2026.

Tennis

Sinner’s nomination for Laureus sportsman of year withdrawn >> The nomination of Jannik Sinner for the Laureus sportsman of the year award was withdrawn because of the top-ranked tennis player’s three-month ban for his two positive doping tests nearly a year ago.

Laureus World Sports Academy chairman Sean Fitzpatrick said in a statement that the Italian player’s ban resulting from a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency prompted the decision.

Sinner and WADA announced the settlement on Feb. 15.

Soccer

Leicester’s slide continues in loss to West Ham >> West Ham handed relegation-threatened Leicester its fourth straight Premier League loss by beating Ruud van Nistelrooy’s team 2-0.

Leicester shook up its coaching staff after last Friday’s 4-0 home loss to Brentford but kept Van Nistelrooy in charge.

In 14 Premier League games under the Dutch manager, Leicester has two wins, one draw and 11 losses.

Mourinho banned for four matches >> Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho was given a four-match ban and fined by the Turkish Football Federation following his comments about Turkish referees after a match at Galatasaray.

The Turkish federation fined the 62-year-old Portuguese coach 1.6 million Turkish lira ($44,000) after he criticized the match officials in a media conference following a 0-0 Super Lig draw on Monday.