Colt Knost was a standout amateur at SMU where he won the US Amateur and Walker Cup as well as reaching the No.1 spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
He went on to play professionally on the PGA Tour before retiring in 2020 and making the move to broadcasting as part of the CBS Sports Golf team.
Get to know the American better with these 20 facts:
1. He was born in Ohio and grew up in Texas.
2. He lived in Dallas, Texas but now bases himself in Scottsdale, Arizona.
3. He attended the Southern Methodist University. He won 13 team tournament championships with SMU including three straight conference titles from 2004-2006. He was an All-American and conference golfer of the year in 2007 and was inducted into the SMU Hall of Fame in 2020.
4. He won the 2007 US Amateur Championship, beating Michael Thompson 2&1 in the final at San Francisco's Olympic Club.
5. He also won the 2007 US Amateur Public Links Championship, an event the USGA discontinued in 2014. Previous winners of the event included Trevor Immelman, Tim Clark, Brandt Snedeker, Ryan Moore, Chez Reavie and Hunter Mahan.
Knost (front right) and the rest of Team USA after winning the 2007 Walker Cup at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland
6. He was also part of the USA's victorious 2007 Walker Cup team alongside the likes of Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson and Billy Horschel.
7. He is one of just three players to win three USGA events in one year. Bobby Jones in 1930 and Jay Sigel in 1983 are the only others.
8. He turned pro in 2007 after his US Amateur win and therefore forfeited his spots in The Masters, US Open and Open Championship.
9. He won the 2007 Mark H. McCormack Medal as the top player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
10. He has two wins as a pro, both coming on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2008.
11. He played in three Majors - the 2012 US Open, 2016 Open and 2016 PGA Championship. His best finish, and only made cut, was at the 2016 PGA where he finished T70th.
12. He announced his retirement from pro golf aged 34 after missing the cut at the 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open. He had been suffering with wrist injuries and no longer wanted to compete on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour.
Knost played his final PGA Tour event at the 2020 Phoenix Open
13. He was never the longest of hitters and averaged under 280 yards in the seasons leading up to his retirement. “The game has just changed so much. Guys hit it so far, and I don’t,” Knost told GolfChannel.com. “But you know, I’m excited for what I have ahead. It’s going to be fun. But, of course, I’m going to miss playing.”
14. He went on to host Golf.com's "GOLFs Subpar" podcast with former pro Drew Stoltz.
15. Knost joined the CBS Sports Golf team in 2022 as an on-course commentator.
16. He and Drew Stoltz also host Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio's “Gravy and the Sleeze” show.
17. He played 199 events on the PGA Tour and had four third-place finishes along with nine top-10s and 92 made cuts. He has career earnings of $5.2m on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour.
18. Despite earning a Masters start with his US Amateur victory, which he ultimately forfeited by turning pro, Knost never played in The Masters.
19. His highest world ranking as a professional was 92nd.
20. His best memory from his pro career was playing both Saturday and Sunday with Phil Mickelson at the 2006 PGA Championship at Medinah.
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