In 2007, Colt Knost swept the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Amateur Public Links. He then helped Team USA win the Walker Cup. Eighteen years later, he’s asking permission to compete as an amateur again.

The former PGA Tour pro and current CBS broadcaster confirmed the next chapter of his controversial journey in November 2025. Speaking on the Monday Q Info podcast, Knost revealed the USGA’s response to his October application. “I actually received an email last week, I believe from the USGA. It looks like 2028 at the earliest,” Knost said.

Then came the signature Knost humor. “The mid-world does not need to worry. I’m not coming to take over your sport or anything like that,” he added. The announcement landed weeks after his initial application sparked outrage. Critics flooded his DMs. Career amateurs accused him of stealing spots from lifelong weekend warriors. Knost absorbed the backlash with a shrug.

“God forbid just a man just reach out and try to get some answers to some questions,” Knost remarked.

Behind the trolling lies a genuine motivation. Knost isn’t chasing trophies or backdooring his way into Augusta. He wants something far more personal.

“The Walker Cup has always meant so much to me. I don’t know if I even have a chance, but I was like, ‘Hey, if you’re an amateur, you probably have a little better chance than being a tour professional,'” Knost explained.

He played on the victorious 2007 U.S. Walker Cup team at Royal County Down. He went 2-0-2 alongside future stars like Dustin Johnson. For Knost, that experience remains the pinnacle of his golfing life. Now 40, he dreams of returning as captain. There’s precedent here. Jim Holtgrieve, a reinstated amateur, captained the U.S. squad in 2011 and 2013. More recently, the R&A appointed former European Tour pro Dean Robertson as Great Britain & Ireland’s captain for 2025. The door is open.

Billy Horschel publicly endorsed Knost’s aspirations on X: “You’ve got my vote for future Walker Cup Captain!” The USGA’s Rule 5 governs reinstatement for former professionals. The minimum waiting period for minor cases is 6 months. But for players with successful careers and significant earnings, that timeline stretches dramatically.

Knost checks every box. He made 199 PGA Tour starts between 2009 and 2020. He won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2008. His career earnings exceeded $5 million across all circuits. The USGA requires roughly eight years from a player’s final professional appearance for someone with that pedigree.

His last competitive round came at the 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open. He missed the cut, then walked away at 34.

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Knost’s application didn’t ignite the controversy. It poured gasoline on an existing fire.

The U.S. Mid-Amateur has become a battleground between career amateurs and reinstated professionals. Six of the eight 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur quarterfinalists were former pros. Brandon Holtz, who regained amateur status in 2024 after six years on mini-tours, won the championship. His prize? Invitations to both the Masters and U.S. Open.

Critics argue former pros possess a permanent structural advantage. Years of full-time training create skills that never fully erode. Knost fired back with characteristic bluntness. “I’ve tried to tell all these very reasonable, sensible people in my DMs that it’s not me here, okay? I’m not the one who made this up,” Knost said.

He has a point. The USGA allows reinstatement. Approximately 800 former professionals apply each year. Virtually none are denied. The rules aren’t the problem. Or maybe they are. Either way, Knost is simply following them. Here’s the twist he finds endlessly amusing. During his PGA Tour career, social media told him he wasn’t good enough. Now they insist he’s too good for the Mid-Am.

“I find it hilarious that when I was playing on the PGA Tour, Twitter always told me I was too shitty to be out on the tour. Now I’m talking about possibly becoming a mid-am and I’m too good to play the mid. So, you can’t win,” Knost quipped.

The 2028 timeline means Knost won’t compete in USGA amateur events anytime soon. But the Walker Cup captaincy remains his endgame. And in three years, the mid-am world might have to make room for him anyway.