Former SMU golfer Colt Knost won the biggest tournament of his life last week when he won the US Amateur Public Links Championship in Illinois. His achievement was quickly recognized at Royal Oaks Country Club a day later, when he arrived for an interview at the practice range.
“What's up Buddy? I'm proud of you,” said one of the club members.
Knost is just the sixth player from Texas to have won the amateur tournament. “I feel like I needed a big amateur win, to get me going and that was a good one to win,” said Knost.
The win enhances his chances of making the USA Walker Cup team.
“Ever since the EDS Byron Nelson Golf Championship, things have just totally changed for me, but winning US Amateur Public Links Championship just totally changed my life it feels like,” said Knost.
Golf fans who were in Irving for the EDS Byron Nelson Golf Championship remember watching Knost set a new amateur standard for the tournament with a 6-under par 64 to become the first non-professional to make the cut at the tournament since University of Texas golfer Justin Leonard in 1993.
“He's a very, very consistent player,” says Randy Smith, the Head Pro at Royal Oaks Country Club. “He's not a big high and low guy, he shoots consistently good scores.”
But now, he has a new dilemma. His latest win earns him exceptions to the US Amateur and the Masters, two invitations he would lose if he turned pro.
“All the people that play golf dream about playing at the masters,” says Knost. “It’s a nice problem to have. I have to turn professional, or go play at Augusta National, so, it’s a nice problem to have, but it’s a tough one to have too.”
Knost was going to turn professional this fall, but now he's reevaluating his options. First up, will be his selection to the USA Walker Cup team.
“I feel like I should be on there, I mean like I told the people up there, the USGA selects people to play and I just won one of their national championships.
No comments:
Post a Comment