PGA Tour golfer Jake Knapp isn’t the only one drawing attention at the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beaches. Knapp’s girlfriend, Makena White, has also taken the spotlight after the PGA Tour shared a video of the couple celebrating Knapp’s 59 in the first round of the 2025 tournament at PGA National in Florida.
Knapp and White, a Canadian-born medical sales rep, have been dating since 2023, according to her Instagram profile.
Knapp entered the final round of the Cognizant Classic with a one-shot lead. The 30-year-old California native turned pro in 2016, starting his career on the PGA Tour Canada and the Korn Ferry Tour before earning his PGA Tour card in 2024. Knapp secured his first career victory at the Mexican Open in 2024.
Jake Knapp’s Girlfriend Makena White Posted About Their Relationship on Instagram in 2024: ‘Does It Count as a Hard Launch if NBC Saw It First?’
In March 2024, White revealed she and Knapp were dating, writing in an Instagram post alongside of a photo of the two of them together, “Does it still count as a hard launch if NBC saw it first?”
She was by his side a month later when he played in The Masters for the first time, writing on Instagram, “Never misses a first fairway hug First Masters ✔️ I’m so proud of you sweet boy 🫶🏼.”
In a post celebrating his birthday in May she wrote, “The kindest, hardest working, most generous, handsome, talented person I’ll ever know. To know you is to love you. Here’s to 30 years of living the dream – and you’re only getting started. Happy birthday my sweet boy, you deserve the world.”
In July, Knapp wrote a post on his Instagram wishing White a happy birthday, “Happiest of birthdays to the hardest working girl I know. Can’t thank you enough for being my rock during this crazy year. Hope this next year is filled with lots of golf, workouts, flights and all the Fergie snuggles you can handle. I love you.”
In February 2024, White flew from Canada to Mexico to be there to celebrate Knapp’s first career victory.
White Often Shares Her Experiences Cheering on Knapp on Social Media & Told the Birdie Little Secret Podcast She’s Never Watched One of Knapp’s Putts Within 10 Feet
While her boyfriend was making history by becoming only the 15th golfer to shoot a round of 59 or lower on the PGA Tour, White was having her own adventures in the gallery, according to her posts on X. “The time is 8:43am EST,” she posted on February 2. “Makena: bra falls out of purse on the course & man picks it up yelling ‘ma’am! your underwear or lingerie’ several times. Makena: sunglasses stolen out of washroom Jake: -5 thru 5.”
She added in a second post, “10:08 EST Mak: sat in blue gum in white dress Jake: -8 thru 11.”
White is a longtime golf fan and golfer, according to her X profile. She has posted often about playing golf and watching the sport.
In a February 2025 appearance on the Birdie Little Secret podcast, White told hosts Kassidy Duncan and Sydney Ford, “I have never watched one of Jake’s putts from within 10 feet. I don’t just like turn my head, I do a full 180 and I’m looking the opposite direction.”
She said it’s not that she doesn’t trust Knapp’s ability to make the putts, but, “I’m the worst golf watcher on the face of the earth, and I get so nervous that I can’t watch putts. … I say that I watch with my ears.”
White told the Birdie Little Secret podcast they met after she saw him on Instagram when the Korn Ferry Tour shared a video of an interview with him on its Instagram page and followed his account.
“I’ve always been the biggest sports nut ever,” she told the podcast. “I’m the biggest hockey fan ever. My golf and PGA Tour knowledge is freaky good. When I was a kid, I used to, when other people were playing with dolls, or doing that stuff, I used to sit at my computer and make PowerPoints on golfers and hockey players. I was the biggest nerd. … My whole Instagram explore page is all sports and I saw Jake, thought he was cute and followed him, and then he messaged me.”
She added, “He messaged me, ‘Why did you follow me?’ … It might have been sweeter, I think he was like, ‘What’s a pretty girl like Makena doing following me?’ … I just replied, ‘Because I have a crush,’ and we’ve talked everyday since.”
White said they met in October 2023 and their first date was a family wedding.
White Is From Ottawa, Ontario, & Studied Communications & Software Engineering Before Starting Her Career as a Surgical Sales Representative
White is from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, according to her LinkedIn profile. She works as a surgical sales representative for a medical device company.
“Makena is a graduate of McMaster University with an Honours degree in Communications & software engineering,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “With over 8 years of field sales experience, Makena thrives in an environment where she is able to use her exceptional communication skills and sales abilities to make a difference. Always looking for the next opportunity to learn, she seeks to spend everyday learning from colleagues, customers and management in order to get better at what she does.”
She added, “Makena has a passion for leading others and coaching. Having spent many years in mentorship roles with various companies, she loves to share her sales knowledge, tactics, strategies and product knowledge with colleagues and customers alike.”
On the Birdie Little Secret podcast, White talked about how living in Canada along with her “super demanding” job make it tough for her to get to events. She recalled having worked on Friday and Saturday while her boyfriend was playing in the Mexican Open in February 2024 and seeing him “going off” during the third round while watching at a friend’s house.
“I just kept kind of looking at my friend out of the corner of my eye and I was like, ‘I think I need to book a flight,” she said. White got there while Knapp was playing on the 7th hole on Sunday. “At this point, we hadn’t even gone public with our relationship.”
She said they had been dating since 2023 and it wasn’t a secret, but “it was more private, I hadn’t hard launched yet. We had the hardest hard launch of all time. I remember my group chat was like, ‘Is anyone watching golf right now? Do you know if that’s Makena?’ That was the beginning of what turned out to be the craziest year ever.”
White said they met when he was playing on the Korn Ferry Tour and didn’t have his PGA Tour card yet.
“My favorite thing to do is when he has media before tournaments, I always like to go, and I sit in the corner like smiling ear to ear, my cheeks hurt, just because I am so proud of him,” White told the Birdie Little Secret podcast.
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