{"id":171481,"date":"2025-09-26T23:36:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T23:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/171481\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T23:36:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T23:36:06","slug":"makena-white-girlfriend-of-pga-star-jake-knapp-passes-away-at-28-all-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/171481\/","title":{"rendered":"Makena White, girlfriend of PGA star Jake Knapp passes away at 28; all you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Makena White, the girlfriend of PGA Tour<\/a> standout Jake Knapp, has tragically passed away at just 28 years old. The shocking announcement came on her Instagram on September 26, casting a somber shadow over the ongoing 2025 Ryder Cup<\/a> at Bethpage Black in New York. Knapp, who missed out on a US team spot this year, now faces his toughest challenge off the course.<\/p>\n

White’s close friend shared the devastating update on her Instagram handle.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi everyone \u2013 this is Makena\u2019s friend, writing with the heaviest heart to share that Makena passed away earlier this week. She is already so deeply missed by her Dad, her family, her friends, and of course by Nelly and Fergie,” the post on Instagram read.<\/p>\n

\u201cMakena was one of a kind. She had this rare way of making you feel special, and her huge heart was always overflowing with love. To be loved by Makena was a gift; one that came with endless laughter, so much joy, and a healthy sprinkling of chaos as we tried to keep up with her travel schedule,” it added.<\/p>\n

Makena White’s last post<\/p>\n

Makena White wasn’t just Knapp’s partner, she was his rock, jetting around the world to cheer him on through every swing and celebration. The couple, who went public with their romance in February 2024 after Knapp’s breakthrough Mexico Open win, shared two magical years filled with adventure and affection.<\/p>\n

White’s final Instagram post captured their unbreakable bond. Over a sweet photo of them embracing on the fairway, she wrote, “Year 2 of first fairway hugs & watching you live out your dreams. Second season in the books, forever grateful to be on this walk with you, here\u2019s to many many many more.” She added, “I looooove you sweet boy, you make it so dang easy to be proud.”<\/p>\n

Details on the cause of death<\/p>\n

Additional information about the cause of White’s death has not been made available. Her friend noted that Makena White passed away earlier in the week, but no further specifics were shared in the emotional Instagram statement.<\/p>\n

Remembering Makena White<\/p>\n

Makena White’s own story wove in threads of resilience. Her mother, Crystal, began treatment at the Bruy\u00e8re Brain Health & Memory Clinic in 2018 after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis and passed in April 2022. To celebrate White’s spirit, donations are encouraged to the clinic or the Griffin Bell Endowment Fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you would like to honour Makena\u2019s memory, donations to the Bruy\u00e8re Brain Health & Memory Clinic or the Griffin Bell Endowment Fund would mean a lot. We love you Mak. We\u2019ll miss you always, and we\u2019ll be looking for you in the sunset.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Makena White, the girlfriend of PGA Tour standout Jake Knapp, has tragically passed away at just 28 years…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":171482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,111917,111916,755,1745,111914,111918,45488,111922,111909,111912,111911,111921,111913,111915,1747,111920,102420,85,111923,111919,111910],"class_list":["post-171481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bruyere-brain-health-memory-clinic","tag-cognizant-classic","tag-golf","tag-golf-news","tag-golfer-girlfriend-death","tag-griffin-bell-endowment-fund","tag-jake-knapp","tag-jake-knapp-girlfriend","tag-makena-white","tag-makena-white-dead","tag-makena-white-death","tag-makena-white-instagram","tag-makena-white-passes-away","tag-mexico-open-2024","tag-pga-tour","tag-pga-tour-grief","tag-ryder-cup-2025","tag-sports","tag-sports-tragedy","tag-tragic-loss","tag-who-is-makena-white"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}