Jim Knous of Englewood will get a chance to test his abilities on the Web.com Tour on a regular basis in 2017 thanks to a steady-as-a-rock performance at the final stage of Q-school in Winter Garden, Fla.
The former Colorado School of Mines golfer shot four consecutive rounds of 70 for a 6-under-par 280 total, good for a 23rd-place finish out of 155 players on Sunday.
Golfers who ended up 11th through 45th and ties are guaranteed entry into the first eight tournaments of the 2017 Web.com Tour season. Further starts for Knous will depend how he fares in the early portion of the schedule.
Knous, the 2012 NCAA Division II individual runner-up, made four birdies and two bogeys in Sunday’s final round. He came on strong down the stretch, playing his last five holes in 3 under par. His 23rd-place finish was worth $10,000.
Knous, runner-up in the 2010 CGA Amateur, has won the last two San Juan Opens.
Knous was the only player with strong Colorado ties to finish in the top 45 on Sunday.
University of Colorado senior Jeremy Paul was in 26th place entering the final day. But after opening with a birdie, he played his final 12 holes in 4 over par and shot a 3-over 75. That left him at even-par 286 and in 72nd place. A total of 283 or better was necessary to place in the top 45.
CU head coach Roy Edwards confirmed on Sunday it’s likely Paul will return to the Buffs for his final semester after finishing outside the top 45.
“It was nice getting here, but I’m obviously pretty disappointed right now,” Paul told Golfweek.com. “It was not for nothing, but in the end it was for nothing. Not a whole lot to say right now, just pretty disappointed.”
Paul, Parker Edens of Greeley (288, 89th place), Tom Whitney of Fort Collins (290, 113th place), former CU golfer Josh Creel of Cheyenne (294, 131st place) and Michael Schoolcraft of Denver (297, 141st place) all will have conditional status on the Web.com Tour in 2017, but sometimes that translates into just one or two Web tournament starts.
Floridian Jim Renner won the qualifying tournament on Sunday with a 269 total, giving him fully-exempt status for the entire 2017 season.
Sunday concluded a three-stage Web.com Q-school process — four stages, if you include pre-qualifying.
The 2017 Web.com Tour season will begin Jan. 8-11 in the Bahamas.
Here are the scores of all the players with significant Colorado connections who competed this week in the final stage of Web.com Q-school:
23. Jim Knous of Englewood 70-70-70-70–280
72. CU golfer Jeremy Paul 71-68-72-75–286
89. Parker Edens of Greeley 70-72-74-72–288
113. Tom Whitney of Fort Collins 72-73-71-74–290
131. Former CU golfer Josh Creel of Cheyenne 73-75-74-72–294
141. Michael Schoolcraft of Denver 74-77-75-71–297
For all the scores, CLICK HERE.
