Makena White, the girlfriend of PGA golfer Jake Knapp, died earlier this week at age 28.
The tragic news was shared in an Instagram post written by her friend on Friday. “Hi everyone – this is Makena’s friend, writing with the heaviest heart to share that Makena passed away earlier this week,” the post began.
No cause of death was given.
However, in the months leading up to her death, White had started to share details about her health online. On X (formerly Twitter), she revealed she had multiple surgeries scheduled this summer.
On June 2, 2025, White, who is from Canada, posted about the start of the RBC Canadian Open, the country’s pro golf championship, which Knapp played in. She also shared some details about some procedures she had scheduled.
“Happy RBC Canadian Open week & 1st week of June! 2 cardiac & 1 vascular surgery standing between me and watching my crush play in my home country!” she wrote.
Although White didn’t get into the specifics of her surgeries, in a different post shared on June 2, she seemingly revealed that she had tachycardia, a medical condition in which one’s heart rate exceeds 100 beats per minute, according to Mayo Clinic.
In the post, White shared a photo of her in a hospital bed with the US Open Golf Championship scores open on her computer with the caption “We’re dialled #GolfsLongestDay.” She also shared a follow-up photo of her Apple Watch showing her heart rate elevated at 133, writing, “By dialled I mean tachycardic.”
In another post shared in May, White, who worked as a software engineer, took a photo of herself at work, wearing a heart rate monitor around her waist.
Additionally, in her X bio, she referred to herself as a “vascular and cardio surgery nerd.”
Knapp has yet to comment on White’s death. The pair had been dating for over a year. In March 2024, White made their relationship Instagram-official by sharing a sweet photo of them together. “Does it still count as a hard launch if NBC saw it first?” she captioned the post.
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