Cheyenne Knight nearly had the best birthday wish any golfer could ask for on Friday, coming up 1 foot short of an ace at the par-3 third hole at the Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club. Instead, the newly minted 24-year-old settled for a 5-under 66, tied for her career-low round on Tour, and jumped to solo sixth heading into the weekend at the 2021 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.
“It was an early wake up. I woke up at 5 and my mom is so sweet, she kind of decorated the room for me,” said Knight, who finished 20th here in 2020. “This is my first time I've ever gotten to play on my birthday, so it was definitely fun and my group was a lot of fun today."
Starting her day on No. 10, Knight, the 2019 Volunteers of America Classic winner, caught fire on the front nine. She opened with three straight birdies and added in two more at 4 and 5 to finish with the fifth 66 of her career.
“I think it was kind of a benefit I was first off the back. Well, not technically first off, but I was at 8:00. I was the first girl off the back, LPGA player,” said Knight. “So definitely the wind and the pin positions were tricky today, just getting close to them, because you either get close or you're kind of off the greens, missing the greens. There are birdie opportunities out there, so it's really important to kind of get those.”
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