Jake Knapp was 11 shots worse than his opening round at the Cognizant Classic and still stayed in front, curling in a 15-foot birdie putt on his final hole Friday for a 1-under 70 and a one-shot lead over Matthieu Pavon (64) in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Knapp, who made 12 birdies Thursday for the 15th round of 59 or lower on the PGA Tour, went 10 holes without a birdie. He had a double bogey when his tee shot found the water. One of his better shots hit a sprinkler cap and bounced 40 yards away.

Knapp, an Estancia High and UCLA product, wasn’t sure what to expect. It was close to perfect one day, a struggle the next.

“I’ve never had to follow up a 59 at a tournament before. It’s all new to me,” Knapp said. “Yesterday, everything was just clicking ball-striking wise, distance control felt really good, was able to control flight and windows. All that was perfect.”

There was more wind at PGA National. Putts that found the center of the cup managed to burn the edge.

One player had reason to celebrate, along with shedding a few tears. Florida State junior Luke Clanton easily made the cut with a 5-under 66 — he was just four shots behind — giving him enough points for the 21-year-old to get a PGA Tour card after the NCAA Championships at the end of May.

Clanton already has two runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour and a pair of other top 10s. He is used to the big stage, and he has another opportunity this weekend.

Dale Whitnell made two holes-in-one in the same round at the South African Open, having entered the day worrying about just making the cut at the European tour event.

The 36-year-old Englishman aced the par-3 second and 12th holes at the Durban Country Club in a wild 9-under 63 second round that included an eagle, seven birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey.

Brian Harman also made two aces in the same round at the 2015 Barclays on the PGA Tour at Plainfield Country Club, acing the third and 14th holes in the final round. Yusaku Miyazato, playing on a sponsor exemption at the 2006 Reno-Tahoe Open on the PGA Tour, made a hole-in-one on the seventh and 12th holes in the second round.

According to the U.S.-based National Hole-in-One Registry, the odds of making a hole-in-one twice in the same round are 67 million to 1.

Olympic gold medalist and LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko moved to within a shot of the lead after two rounds of the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore with a 5-under 67.

The South Korean-born New Zealander had a two-round total of 6-under 138 at Sentosa Golf Club. First-round leader A Lim Kim held the lead after 36 holes after a 69.

TRACK AND FIELD

Mondo Duplantis lifted his pole vault world record to 6.27 meters in a World Athletics Indoor Tour meeting in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

The Olympic and world champion added a centimeter to his world record he last improved in August in Poland.

It was the 11th world pole vault record for Duplantis.

The Swede did it on his first attempt at the All Star Perche.

Emmanouil Karalis was second with a Greek record clearance of 6.02.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze was diagnosed with an early form of prostate cancer, the school announced. The Tigers added that Freeze, 55, is expected to make a full recovery and will continue his normal coaching duties and responsibilities while undergoing treatment.

MLB

New York Mets infielder Nick Madrigal could miss the entire 2025 season with a fractured left shoulder.

Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that Madrigal needs surgery to repair his non-throwing shoulder, which the player dislocated Sunday when he fell to the ground after throwing a ball to first base in a Grapefruit League game against Washington.

An MRI on Monday revealed the extent of the injury, with Mendoza saying at the time that Madrigal would likely be out for an extended period. The club immediately placed Madrigal on the 60-day injured list and acquired Alexander Canario from the Chicago Cubs for cash considerations.

TENNIS

Stefanos Tsitsipas stands between Felix Auger-Aliassime and a tour-leading third title this year at the Dubai Championships.

They will meet for the 10th time on tour in the final today. Tsitsipas leads 6-3 overall and has dominated their matchups since 2020 but they are 1-1 in finals.

If Tsitsipas wins against Auger-Aliassime in today’s final, he will return to the top 10 for the first time since June.

No. 11-ranked Tsitsipas beat No. 47 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-4, without offering a break point in their semifinal.

No. 21 Auger-Aliassime overcame French qualifier and No. 77 Quentin Halys 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 for the second time in two weeks.

SKIING

Cornelia Huetter won the first women’s World Cup downhill since the Alpine skiing world championships to give new life to the battle for the discipline title.

The Austrian got her second downhill win of the season after beating Emma Aicher of Germany by 0.15 seconds in Kvitfjell, Norway. Aicher, 21, secured her first career podium finish.

Downhill world champion Breezy Johnson finished 0.40 seconds behind in third as the American continued the wait for her maiden World Cup victory.

Lindsey Vonn was 1.15 seconds off the lead in 13th.