'Die-hard' Knicks fan John Pak blames team’s defeat for sleepless night before Charles Schwab Challenge: “Was a little p****d”

John Pak had an incredible day on the golf course, as he took the first-round lead at the 2025 Charles Schwab Challenge. However, a few hours earlier, he was dealing with a sleepless night due to the New York Knicks’ defeat against the Indiana Pacers.

On Thursday, May 22, Pak fired a bogey-free 63 to take the early lead at the Charles Schwab Challenge. The PGA Tour rookie holds a three-shot lead over seven players and is the fifth rookie to lead after the first round this season.

Later that day, Pak shared that he hadn’t slept well the night before the opening round at Colonial. He said that he had been watching the Knicks vs. Pacers game on Wednesday and struggled to sleep afterward.

"I'm a die-hard Knicks fan, and that was historically one of the worst losses I've ever seen in my life," he said. "There was a fire lit under me, yeah, this morning. I was a little pi***d off about that," he added.

Speaking about his Thursday plans, the 26-year-old golfer said that he would get enough rest as his favorite team wasn’t scheduled to play.

"Get a little practice in, work on what I was working on in my putting last week, hit a couple of balls," he continued. "Thankfully the Knicks aren't playing tonight, so I won't be stressed about that. I didn't sleep well after that loss last night. I'm going to recover, do a little stretching, and then maybe watch the Thunder game later tonight."

When will John Pak tee off at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Round 2?

John Pak is grouped with Ricky Castillo and Jeremy Paul for the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge. They will tee off on Friday, May 23, at 2:40 p.m. ET from the 1st hole as the final trio of the day.

The second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge will begin on Friday at 8:00 a.m. ET. Joel Dahmen, Nate Lashley, and Sami Valimaki will tee off as the first group of the day from the 1st hole. Simultaneously, Bud Cauley, Thorbjørn Olesen, and Patrick Fishburn will begin their round from the 10th tee.

John Pak is making his thirteenth start on the PGA Tour this season. So far, he has made seven cuts and posted one top-25 finish. He will be looking to continue the momentum for the rest of the week.

About the author

Shobhit is one of Sportskeeda’s most seasoned golf journalists, having already authored 3600+ articles and received nearly 5.7 million reads. Prior to his current role, he worked with the Asiana Times after completing his MSc in Geology, giving him a solid foundation in understanding the terrain, variety and challenges posed by various golf courses.

He is a keen follower of the sport and keeps himself updated about the latest trends, news and updates via social media and various news platforms. Shobhit is also methodical about accuracy, going through multiple articles from leading media houses and reputed sources before writing his own. Simultaneously, he specializes in writing reader-friendly content that conveys the necessary information in simple language.

Shobhit was a fan of Tiger Woods growing up, but of late, Nelly Korda, Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg have caught his attention.

He likes to spend his downtime singing and writing, while he is also an avid watcher of cricket and tennis.

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Edited by Shobhit Kukreti