Knost secures 2009 PGA Tour spot with Price Cutter Championship win

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The rookie beat the kid. It might not have been the OK Corral, but it seemed only appropriate that a Texan named Colt would be the last man standing in a final-round shootout in the Price Cutter Charity Championship.

Colt Knost now owns two victories on the Nationwide Tour this season. (Badz/PGA TOUR)

Inside the Numbers

Knost's Final Stats

Category Total Rank Eagles 2 T1 Birdies 26 T1 Pars 40 T61 Bogeys 4 T57 Double Bogeys 0 N/A Other 0 N/A Driving Accuracy 80.4% T1 Driving Distance 309.6 yds. 35 Greens in Regulation 86.1% T2 Putts per Round 27.3 T1 Putts per GIR 1.548 1 Sand Saves 66.7% T19

Colt Knost, an experienced 23-year-old rookie from Dallas and the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, polished off a wire-to-wire win Sunday at Highland Springs Country Club and punched his ticket to the PGA TOUR in 2009.

Knost, who started things with a bang by shooting an 8-under 64 to take the first-day lead, carded a 10-under 62 in Sunday's finale, finishing with a total of 26-under-par 262, four shots better than the kid, 22-year-old Webb Simpson (65), who was turned pro two months ago and was making his first Nationwide Tour start.

Oskar Bergman (65) finished third, a distant six shots back, while Josh Broadaway (64) and Brendan Steele (66) tied for fourth, seven back.

Knost, winner of the Fort Smith Classic (in Arkansas, about three hours away), collected $108,000 for the victory and jumped from No. 20 to No. 2 on the money list with $253,628. At season's end, which will come at the Tour Championship near Dallas, THE 25 top money-winners will earn PGA TOUR cards next year.

"This is special because I know where it gets me next year," said Knost. "This is what we work for, to get to the PGA TOUR."

Knost is the first wire-to-wire winner on the Nationwide Tour this year and joins 2002 champion Patrick Sheehan as the only players to accomplish the feat in the tournament's 19-year history. His round of 62 matches the lowest round of the year and his 26-under-par score is just one shy of the tournament record.

"Honestly, I didn't know if I could shoot 20 to 25 under par in a tournament," said Knost. "Even after the practice round, I told everyone I don't see 20 under out here, but I've never hit my irons as good as I have this week."

Knost put together one of those magical tournaments where he did everything well. He tied for first in fairways hit, tied for second in greens in regulation and tied for first in putting.

"This just feels great," said Knost. "Everything came together this week. I hit it great, I putted great and I controlled myself. It was an amazing day."

The day began with Knost making birdie on three of his first six holes Sunday, but he was overtaken for the lead by Simpson, a 2008 Wake Forest grad who Monday qualified to get into the field. Simpson got off to a torrid start with four birdies in his first five holes and turned the front in 6-under 30 for a 21-under score.

"I said all week this was a perfect golf course for Webb," said Knost, an SMU grad who played on two Walker Cup teams with Simpson. "I knew he was going to be there. I knew he was going to take it low today and so I knew I couldn't shoot a couple under and manage to win."

Knost, meantime, put together a 3-under 33 but was two down when he arrived at the 394-yard 10th hole, which he bogeyed from the middle of the fairway in Saturday's third round. This time, the outcome was different for the former Mustang.

"I hit a perfect drive there for the fourth straight day and then holed it from 98 yards," said Knost of his sand wedge that found the cup. "That was a great way to get some momentum back in my favor."

Knost regained the lead on the next hole, the 535-yard, par-5 11th, where his 4-iron from 205 yards stopped 18 inches from the flag.

"That was one of the best irons I hit all week," he said. "Heck, I thought I holed another one."

The tap-in eagle jumped him from 19 to 23 under in the span of two holes and he was back where he'd spent most of the week -- at the front of the pack.

With Simpson stalling out on the back nine, and eventually settling for eight consecutive pars to close his round, Knost added another birdie at the par-3 13th, giving him a two-shot lead to hold onto down the stretch.

Knost pushed the lead to three with a birdie at No. 16, putting him 9 under for the day and 25 under par. He then wrapped things up by nearly holing his third shot on the par-5 18th, leaving himself two inches for birdie and a closing 29. His four-stroke victory margin also matches the tournament record.

"With all the pressure on me coming into this year, it's nice to live up to what I was supposed to do," said Knost, who was second-guessed by many for turning professional last fall and giving up amateur exemptions into the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open following a standout amateur career. "I had all those doubters this year about my decision. Did I make the right choice? Did I make the wrong choice? The win at Fort Smith was nice but this one hopefully closes the deal and I won't have to answer those questions ever again."

Earlier in the day, Matt Weibring posted a 9-under-par 63 and matched the back-nine record of 29 in the process. Weibring started with seven consecutive pars before playing the final 11 holes in 9 under. The former Georgia Tech standout closed with a B-B-B-B-E finish, matching the best birdie-eagle streak on Tour this year. It also matched the tournament best set by Zach Johnson in 2003.

"I hit a lot of good shots this week but it just seemed like I couldn't get any putts to drop," said Weibring. "On a golf course like this, where you feel like you have a chance to birdie every hole, you never know when something like that can happen. We were standing on the 18th tee and it wasn't until then that I realized what was going on."

Weibring ended his run with a 50-foot eagle putt. He began the day at 7 under and tied for 48th place. When he finished at 16 under par, he was tied for the lead with Knost, who had not yet teed off. He wound up tied for 16th.

Final-Round Notes: Josh Broadaway posted a career-best 8-under-par 64 to finish at 19-under 269, also a career best. Broadaway finished tied for fourth, another career best, and collected $26,400, moving him from No. 48 to No. 31 on the current money list. ... The final-round scoring average was 69.612. The scoring average for the week was 70.120. ... The Nationwide Tour heads to Columbus, Ohio, next week for the second annual Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational, which will be held July 24-27 at The Ohio State University Golf Club (Scarlet Course). Next week's purse will be $750,000 with $135,000 going to the champion.