Not surprisingly, Smith, Knapp receive awards
Receiving awards is nothing new for Nathan Smith and Sean Knapp.
The two western Pennsylvania career amateurs have been among the most decorated over the years and that streak continued this year.
Smith earned his ninth Player of the Year in the West Penn Golf Association, including four straight. He won the WPGA Spring Stroke Play for the ninth time and the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s prestigious Jay Sigel Match Play for the fifth time. He was the runner-up in the Pennsylvania Mid-Amateur and, along with partner Todd White, made it to the quarterfinals of the USGA Four-Ball.
Smith, a 39-year-old native of Brookville, might be described as a silent assassin type. He’s a low-key guy, always smiling. But inside he’s grinding away, always trying to figure out a while to beat his opponent with a game that’s not as long as many, but with ball-striking that most days is unparalled.
On the state level, he won a record fifth William C. Fownes, Jr. Amateur Player of the Year award. That was first given in 2003 and Smith won it. He also won it in 2007, 2009 and 2015.
Knapp, who is Smith’s best friend and was the best man in his wedding, hit the motherload in his career by capturing his first USGA championship in his first year as a senior golfer. He won the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship in September to cap off a very good year for the 56-year-old.
He was the WPGA Senior Player of the Year after winning the Tri-State Open and took a lead into the final round of the West Penn Amateur before finishing tied for third. He’s a 14-time Men’s Player of the Year and finished second to Smith this year.
In keeping with the theme, Knapp won the first W.C. Fownes, Jr. Senior Amateur Player of the Year award.
Both of these guys are humble, well-spoken, perfect representatives for the game of golf. We should appreciate them as the treasures they are.
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Brandt Snedeker is one of the good guys on the PGA Tour and has been for many years.
While he’s not the player he was, when healthy, Snedeker is still capable of contending on a regular basis. But that’s been the problem for him in recent years, being healthy.
As far back as 2009 when he got off to one of the great starts in PGA Tour history, only to be sidelined by a rib issue, it’s been a struggle for him. That issue was followed by surgeries in 2011 and 2012 and then a sternum injury that forced him to miss the last two majors in 2016 and the FedEx Cup playoffs.
He posted online last week that his rehab was progressing and that he plans to play in this week’s RSM Classic, his first start since June.
Snedeker’s not in the same class with Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Jason Day or Rory McIlroy but he’s still a good solid presence out there and the game needs guys like him.
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Unless we get a couple of those freakishly warm days, I’m resigned to the fact that my golf season ended last Monday in an outing at Oakmont Country Club.
Pretty nice way to end your season, but it was almost a special ending. We started on the 14th hole and finished on the 13th, a 165-yard slightly uphill par 3.
It was a cloudy, wet day when we started but late in the afternoon the clouds dissipated and the sun shone brightly. As it worked out we were looking directly into that setting sun as we hit our tee shots.
None of us could see our shots, we left that to the caddies, who stationed themselves near the green.
As I walked onto the putting surface, my caddie said to me, “Have you ever had a hole-in-one?” Shocked, I said, “no.” He said, “Well, you still don’t but your shot rolled right over the cup.”
Sure enough, I was eight feet above the hole and only because the greens were soaked, I managed to leave the putt on the left edge of the cup. Had they been dry and fast, I’d mostly like finished 20 feet past.
Still a great way to end the season.
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If you have an interesting story about your club or course or an individual who has done something special, let me know? Send your story ideas to mike.dudurich@gmail.com.
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Mike Dudurich is a freelance golf writer and hosts The Golf Show on 93.7 The Fan, Saturday mornings from 7-8 during golf season. Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeDudurich