Knost proves naysayers wrong with second win

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The question coaxed a wide smile from Colt Knost.

And his answer to the query, 'What would you do with $180,000?' required a nanosecond of thought.

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Colt Knost moved to second in 'The 25' thanks to his win in the Price Cutter Charity Championship.

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Knost's rapid reply, "Go to the PGA TOUR,'' came out so quickly it sounded like his five words were welded together.

Turns out Knost was seven days late and $72,000 short, but mission accomplished anyway. The highly decorated rookie missed the cut and didn't get the job done at the inaugural Nationwide Tour Players Cup the previous week in the first event in Tour history to offer a purse of $1 million. But he sure did in the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr. Pepper, playing with a white-hot glow for four consecutive days in Missouri.

Come to think of it, The Show Me State provided the perfect stage for Knost, 23, to secure his PGA TOUR playing privileges in 2009. He put on a virtuoso par busting performance, going wire-to-wire with a 2008 season-best total of 26-under-par and collected a first-prize of $108,000 to move to second on the money list with $253,628, a little more than $35,000 behind leader Jarrod Lyle.

Knost showed them all right.

He showed the naysayers who jabbered on incessantly about how foolish he was for turning professional while sending his regrets when his 2008 Masters invitation -- compliments of his championship double in United States Golf Association's Public Links and Men's Amateur in his sizzling summer of 2007 -- arrived in the mail.

He showed the doubters who took one look at him and pontificated about him carrying too much weight (215 pounds) on his 5-foot-9 frame to ever make a name for himself among the play-for-pay set.

Maybe all those people should have watched Knost strike a golf ball before jumping to such a ridiculous conclusion. Maybe they should have checked his resume' too. They would have noticed those two USGA titles. They would have seen that Knost went undefeated for the victorious U.S. Walker Cup team in its narrow victory at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland. That, in on sponsor's exemptions, he made three of four cuts thanks to on the PGA TOUR and sailed through the first two stages of the Qualifying Tournament, earning a spot on the Nationwide Tour.

Oh, and the win in Missouri? Knost's second, a total only matched by Lyle. He won by coming from behind with a final-round 65 at the Fort Smith Classic presented by Stephens Inc. in May. And he won wire-to-wire in Missouri, closing with a fourth-round 62 when he started the day with what seemed like a cast of thousands hot on his heels.

Also keep in mind that Knost's ascent from amateur champion to the PGA TOUR has required less than 12 months.

So maybe the Colt critics should have buttoned their loose lips.

"It seems like I've always been doubted,'' he said. "I'm not the most athletic-looking person. But people should never judge a book by its cover. I know how good I can be.''

See. All they did was provide Knost with some serious motivational material. Not that the single-minded Knost needed a whole lot to begin with. He plotted his course for the PGA TOUR before graduating from SMU and held firm after his USGA double that came with the pair of invites to Augusta.

Knost's logic was solid. Professional golf was his career choice. It made not a shred of sense to sit on his hands for more than seven months waiting to play for some crystal and silver.

Now here's the real beauty of Knost. He's a lot more work in progress than finished product.

"I'm learning a lot,'' he said.

Last week's lesson? That he could win a shootout.

Knost fervently believed he would excel on courses where par was his friend; that high percentage golf was more his style. It took him about six months to realize his conservative style didn't necessarily cut it on the Nationwide Tour. It led to him putting himself behind the cut eight-ball with a little too much regularity. The thought that he should go pin seeking dawned midway through his second round at The Nationwide Tour Players Cup. It produced a back-nine of four under 32 at Pete Dye Club. Despite missing his fifth cut in 12 starts, the performance started the ball rolling in Missouri.

Knost opened with a 64, only his third first round in the 60s. He followed with 67, 69 and that blistering 62 that included back-to-back eagles to win going away. The victory allowed Knost to reset his goals in 2008 with an eye on a three-win performance promotion and the No. 1 spot among 'The 25,' which would grant him full membership and a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship next May.

"Everything feels so good,'' Knost said late Sunday afternoon, basking in the thrill of victory. "This frees me up. I can play the rest of the year relaxed, with no tension.''

Knost said one other thing of note. Duly infected, he stated his latest win makes him want to get better.

That's a nice way of saying his drive is still alive.