Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2017 - 23

U.S. SENIOR AM CHAMPIONSHIP
" I don't care how it looks or what it is. If you're making doublebogey,
I'm making bogey. If you're making par, I'm going to try to
make birdie. " -Sean Knapp
the greenside bunker flew the green. After
flopping his fourth well past the flag
to the front of the green, Knapp conceded
the hole to give Simson his second
1-up lead.
Despite struggling to find the fairway
off the tee, Knapp still managed to find
the green and took advantage of a threeputt
by Simson at the sixth to draw even
for the match.
Simson's iron work,
solid for a majority of
the week, was on display
early in the final match,
sticking another approach
at the par-5 ninth
to six feet, where he converted
birdie to regain a
1-up through nine.
TRACTION ON TEN
Knapp said the match
undoubtedly turned in
his favor at the beginning
of the back nine.
" It was 10. Yeah, there's
no doubt about it, " he
recalled. " If you want to
even go further, take it to 11 and almost
every hole started to build on that. Ten,
having to get up-and-down, and 11 to
get it up-and-down. "
Knapp evened the match at the 10th
and took his first lead of the day at the
11th. At the par-5 13th Knapp's momentum
appeared to continue after his
approach landed 10 feet left of the flag.
However, Simson answered by knocking
his approach inside of three feet for an
easy birdie -allowing him to draw even
with five holes to play.
A costly three-putt by Simson gave
Knapp another 1-up lead at the 14th.
Simson then hit two poor shots back-toback,
failed to reach the green and made
double-bogey -increasing Knapp's lead
to two with two holes to play.
NO BIRDIE, NO PROBLEM
At the 17th, Knapp's approach landed
on the front bank of the green and fell
back into the bunker, while Simson, after
a bold drive, hit his second 25 feet past
the flag. Knapp's third from the bunker
stopped 12 feet right of the cup before
Simson's long birdie chance narrowly
missed the right edge of the cup.
Knapp stepped up and knocked down
ROAD TO VICTORY
Knapp qualified for his first U.S. Senior
Amateur in his first year of eligibility
and posted a 3-over-par 147 to advance
to match play. Defeating 1997 Walker
Cup participant Duke
Delcher during
the round of 64, Knapp cruised to
a 6-and-5 victory over Hopkins native
Scott Thomas.
Edging 2013 U.S.
Sean Knapp
Senior Amateur
champion Doug Hanzel in
the round of 16 Tuesday,
Knapp downed David Nocar,
2 and 1, to reach the
semifinals of a national
championship for the third
time in his career. Knapp
jumped out to an early
lead over defending champion
Dave Ryan during the
semifinals, and hung on for
a 1-up victory to face Simson
in the final.
Knapp is a two-time U.S.
Mid-Amateur semifinalist
and reached the quarterfinals
of the 1998 U.S.
Amateur Championship.
his par putt to clinch the championship
(despite not carding a single birdie during
the final match).
" I don't care how it looks or what it
is. If you're making double-bogey, I'm
making bogey, " Knapp said after his win.
" If you're making par, I'm going to try
to make birdie. It's very difficult to get it
under par. The way the USGA had the
tournament-the setup structure was
very difficult. You could get them close
to pins, but you were taking some risk.
" Obviously I didn't tie him up during
some of the shots I could have made
earlier in the round. I think that's where
birdies can fly. But once you get down to
the stretch and it's 11, it's just survival. If
you're seeking pins, you're going to make
mistakes. "
In 1995 he advanced to the round of 16
before losing, 2 and 1, to eventual champion
Tiger Woods (who won his second
of three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles).
A 14-time Western Pennsylvania Golf
Association Player of the Year, Knapp
also finished as a medalist at the 1997
Pennsylvania State Amateur Championship.
Early
in his career at USGA events,
Knapp said a passive mentality was satisfied
with simply advancing to match
play. But before long, the competitor inside
craved more.
" As time went on it was, 'This isn't successful
unless we can win a few matches.'
And then finally you see how precious it
is to get to that point, " Knapp explained.
" Was I taking it too lightly? 'Hey, I'm
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Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2017

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