SMU golfer Colt Knost won his fifth Conference USA Golfer of the Week award this week for his play in the Robert Kepler Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.
The tournament was cut short due to inclement weather, but Knost was able to continue his streak of top 10 finishes with first and second round scores of 73 and 77. Knost finished tied for seventh place, eight shots behind the winner.
But Knost’s story begins in Pilot Point.
The 3A Texas State Champion gave up all other sports, including baseball, basketball and football, when he picked up the club in high school.
Now in his final year, not only has Knost been named one of 10 semifinalists for the Ben Hogan award, but Knost is the ninth best golfer in the country according to Golfweek and Sagarin’s performance indexes.
Knost has been a staple on the Mustangs’ men’s golf team since he was a freshman in 2003-2004.
That year, while competing in the Western Athletic Conference, he was the conference freshman of the year. Knost finished seventh in the WAC tournament and competed in the NCAA Central Regional and the NCAA Tournament.
In his sophomore year, Knost notched his first two collegiate victories in the Club Glove Intercollegiate and the Pinehurst Classic.
The victory at Pinehurst was a dramatic one.
With Indiana’s Jeff Overton, a current PGA player, in position to win, Knost sank the long putt 40 feet from the cup and gave himself the individual title and SMU the team title. His play earned Knost a place on the All-Conference and All-Regional teams. Once again, Knost competed in the Central Regional and the NCAA Tournament. Knost also competed in the U.S. Amateur Tournament.
Last season Knost had his best finish in the conference tournament. A fourth place finish at the C-USA Tournament earned Knost an All-Conference Tournament selection to go along with All-Conference and All-Regional selections.
Knost also won the Pinehurst Invitational for the second straight year, winning in a duel match against Tulane.
Outside of SMU matches, Knost won the 75th Annual Dixie Amateur Championship and competed in the 105th annual U.S. Men’s Amateur Championship.
This year at the Pinehurst Invitational, Knost missed the three-peat bid by two strokes and finished tied for second place.
In an earlier interview, SMU head golf coach Jay Loar called Knost “one of the most consistent performers [I’ve] ever had.”
Knost’s career as a Mustang is coming to a close, but in an interview with Rick Atkinson, Knost said “I’m very grateful for the opportunity that [Loar] gave me to come play here. It’s been really fun for the four years now. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t gonna miss it.”
The Mustangs have won all three conference titles since Knost joined the team, and they will make their bid for fourth straight on April 28.
