SMU alum Colt Knost has given up his amateur status to become a professional golfer.

For Knost it was just a matter of when he would decide to take it to the next level, not if. He won two amateur tournaments this past season, the U.S. Amateur Links and the U.S. Amateur Championship, and competed for the United States at the Walker Cup in Ireland.

Knost’s amateur wins granted him a place in the field for the 2008 U.S. Open and an invitation to the 2008 Masters, if he remained an amateur. In turning pro, Knost gives up those invitations and will now have to qualify for spots in those tournaments.

The native of Pilot Point has had success at every level he has competed at. He was a Texas state champion in 2003, competed in the NCAA Championship twice during his career at SMU where he won multiple tournaments, and during his senior year he finished in the top 25 in all but one of the 13 tournaments he competed in.

In his short-lived stint on the amateur tour, he became just the sixth golfer in history to win two amateur tournaments in the same year.

Knost will take his first steps as a professional in the Valero Texas Open held in San Antonio. Following that he will compete in PGA Tour Qualifying.