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Former UNF golfer Philip Knowles' quest for PGA Tour card was emotional, exhausting

garry smits, florida times-union
·8 min read
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Philip Knowles became the third University of North Florida player to earn a PGA Tour card, through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
Philip Knowles became the third University of North Florida player to earn a PGA Tour card, through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

Philip Knowles said Scott Schroeder, his golf coach at the University of North Florida, gave sage advice that has stayed with him through a three-year quest to get to the PGA Tour.

"He said that if you're not getting the results you want, it's one of two things: you're either not putting in the work, or you have to be patient," said Knowles, a three-time All-ASUN player and the conference player of the year in 2019. "I knew I had been putting in the work. It was just a matter of being patient."

Everything — the mental and physical work, the patience and just a few fortuitous bounces — blended together for Knowles this season on the Korn Ferry Tour.

And on a gorgeous late summer Indiana evening Sept. 4, he heard Korn Ferry Tour president Alex Baldwin call his name, and with his wife Olivia and his parents Dick and Melanie watching, Knowles walked to a podium to get his PGA Tour card for the 2022-23 season.

"It was a real 'pinch-me' moment," Knowles said. "Is this really happening? Not because I didn't expect it would never happen, but because it's so hard. It was the realization of a lifelong dream and looking back and reflecting on the difficult times, I was able to enjoy that moment. It was pretty emotional."

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Knowles finished fourth on the Korn Ferry Tour Finals money list to earn his card and will make his first PGA Tour start on Thursday in Napa, Calif., at the Fortinet Championship. He expects to get additional starts, depending on his status and field strength, in Mississippi, Las Vegas, Bermuda and the RSM Classic at the Sea Island Club on St. Simons Island, Ga.

Knowles is the third past UNF player to earn full status on the PGA Tour, and all three took different routes: Matt Borchert tied for 11th at the 2008 PGA Tour National Qualifying Tournament and Vince Covello finished among the top-25 on the 2018 Korn Ferry regular-season money list.

Neither stayed on the Tour for very long and Knowles is fully aware that an even greater challenge than getting there.

"There are so many good players out there," he said. "It's so hard to explain to people the fine line between just getting starts on the Korn Ferry and having Tour card. It's so thin."

Knowles survives tough stretch

Knowles began the season with conditional status by finishing seventh on the Forme Tour money list last year and didn't get a start until the fifth tournament when he used a sponsor invitation at the LECOM Suncoast Classic near his hometown of Bradenton.

Knowles led the field in birdies that week and tied for 22nd to earn starts through the re-shuffle and finished last among players who made the cut in Lake Charles, La.

He then missed four cuts in a row. But Knowles saw enough good signs in his game that he tried not to worry. Knowles isn’t the longest driver on the Korn Ferry Tour but he was nonetheless hitting fairways (he finished the season fifth in driving accuracy at .717) and was putting well enough.

"I felt like my game was fine," he said. "I was playing better golf than I was getting rewarded for."

Knowles bounced back with ties for 23rd in Kansas City and for 25th in Raleigh, then a tie for 12th in Greenville, S.C.

The latter proved something to Knowles.

"I was one back at around the middle of the front nine the last day," he said. "That was a big week for me, the launching pad. I told my caddie [former UNF teammate Jack Comstock] and my dad, 'we're competing and we can win one. Let's go do it.'"

Knowles had 'a blast'

Knowles entered the Korn Ferry event in Omaha needing a big week to finish among the top-75 on the points list and qualify for the Korn Ferry Finals. He was tied for the 54-hole lead and shot 71 to drop into a tie for 10th, his first career top-10.

A victory would have clinched a spot in the regular-season top-25. But it was enough to get him into the Finals for a second chance.

"I was having a blast," Knowles said of a streak of eight made cuts in 10 starts, and six finishes of 26th or higher. "You can't help but be nervous in some ways but the nerves didn't affect my golf. It was a feeling of excitement, the desire to win, the passion, all that you put into what gets you there. It all stacked up on each other. This is what I've been waiting for. My game felt great."

Knowles said he had a conversation with Comstock heading to the first finals event in Boise where they gave each other some encouragement for the final push.

"We talked about the number of cards available and agreed that we're playing as well as anyone," Knowles said. "Let's go get it."

Knowles' swing coach Jim Ragland said Knowles was so confident entering Boise that he changed plans to visit him the following week in Columbus.

"He told me that he really liked where his swing was and he didn't really need to work on anything," Ragland said. "He wanted his mind clear. I knew he was in a really good state of mind. Then he goes out and shoots 61 [in the first round]."

A playoff loss, but a card secured

Knowles left no doubt at the Hillcrest Country Club. He followed up a career-low 61 in the first round with a 64 to take the lead, then had to go to a playoff with Will Gordon and MJ Daffue after weekend scores of 68-70.

Knowles lost on the first hole of sudden death but he already knew from the Korn Ferry competition staff that a tie for sixth or better would have earned his PGA Tour card.

"We felt those weeks in Omaha were coming," he said.

Knowles said he had a heart-to-heart phone call with his father after that and it was more reflective than celebratory.

"My Dad got me started in golf and we talked after Boise about the trials of the last few years, and how conditional life on the Korn Ferry is really, really tough," Knowles said. "We've always had a lot of conversations about how hard it is to play this sport and get to the Tour. I think we all knew it's a very real possibility that it might not happen because there's so much that's beyond your control."

Philip Knowles was a three-time All-ASUN player and the conference player of the year for the Universit of North Florida in 2019.
Philip Knowles was a three-time All-ASUN player and the conference player of the year for the Universit of North Florida in 2019.

After Knowles tied for 17th in the Korn Ferry Finals, with weekend rounds of 66-67, he celebrated in a quiet, unconventional fashion: he let his wife drive back to Jacksonville the next day and he sat in the passenger seat and watch the Midwest countryside blend into the familiarity of the Deep South.

"I was gassed," he said. "I played five weeks in a row, with such a high-stress level and it was very draining. It was nice to sit there and think and let my mind wander. I actually wanted to lock my clubs in a closet and not touch them."

That lasted three days. He was back practicing at the TPC Sawgrass before the week was out to get ready for the next step at the Silverado Resort in Napa.

First Coast team

Knowles may be from Southwest Florida but he has an All-First Coast team.

Comstock is a Bolles graduate. Ragland and his putting and short game coach Ramon Bescansa are from Jacksonville.

And Knowles said he will always owe a debt to Schroeder and UNF assistant coach Jeff Dennis for helping him prepare for the professional grind while playing for the Ospreys.

"Scott and Dennis are really good at forcing us, as players to be real with ourselves," he said. "They played huge roles in me becoming the player I am. So many guys from UNF have gone before me and for one reason or another, haven't achieved this dream. It's really humbling to know I'm one of a few from UNF but I'm sure I won't be the last."

Schroeder said Knowles made it easy because he never had to push him to work or light a competitive fire in him.

"He was always very good about putting in the work," Schroeder said. "We tell our guys that as long as you're trying to get better, it will kick in at some point. He's probably as level-headed a kid as I've ever known and he's highly competitive. When you play cornhole with him, it's a battle. I like being around competitive people."

Ragland said Knowles's mentality will serve him well on the PGA Tour.

"He's so mentally strong that he won't take failure as an option," he said. "Does he need to get longer? We don't know because we won't start getting access to the Tour's ShotLink data until this week. But if he keeps hitting fairways and putting as well as he has, I'm pretty sure he hits it long enough to compete."

Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Philip Knowles secured PGA Tour card with exhausting late-season sprint