Former PGA Tour golfer defends decision to apply for amateur status

Former PGA Tour member turned golf commentator Colt Knost has caused an almighty stir by announcing he has applied to have his amateur status back. 

Knost spent several years playing golf at the highest level, amassing nearly $4.5m in career earnings from 199 starts on the North American circuit. 

The 40-year-old, who won the US Amateur in 2007 before turning professional, decided to swap his clubs for a microphone in 2020. 

His last official start on the PGA Tour was the 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.

Since then, Knost has spent most of his time as an on-course announcer for the likes of CBS as well as hosting a podcast for GOLF. 

On 15 October, Knost announced during an episode of Subpar that he has applied to get his amateur status back and one of his goals is to qualify for the U.S. Mid-Am. 

The winner of said tournament also gets an invitation to The Masters. 

Knost qualified for the 2008 Masters owing to his US Amateur win but relinquished the opportunity by turning pro to chase his dream. He never qualified for the major thereafter. 

His decision has rubbed several the wrong way, given he is not just "some guy who gave golf a try". 

He spent eight years on the PGA Tour and, although he never won, some believe he would steamroll the competition.

"No offence, but if you have two wins as a pro, there is no way in hell anyone should be reinstated as an amateur," one opined on X. 

"This is absolutely ridiculous," another added. "He won millions as a pro golfer and reached the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking. I'm not opposed to a few mini-tour journeymen getting reinstated, but absolutely not a guy who had Colt's level of success."

Another said: "If The Masters wasn't available for the winner, would this be happening as frequently?"

Colt Knost defends his decision

For his part, Knost has defended the decision, saying that people need to "pump the brakes" and "relax". 

He said that he gets beat all the time on his home course by a dentist and a former car salesman. 

Knost also explained that, given his other responsibilities, there is a good chance the only tournament he would participate in as an amateur would be a pro/scratch tournament. 

He asked: "What's wrong with that?"

Knost also said that he has applied to get his amateur status back. 

"My game isn't s--- compared to what it used to be," Knost said. "I'm being totally honest."