Give It Up for Hard K!

Dear fans surrounding 16, 

I have a favor to ask. I need your best effort for a tour pro many of you may not have heard of. His name is Jim Knous. His friends call him Jimmy Hard K because his last name is pronounced with a hard "K." So when he steps to the tee at the par-3 hole at TPC Scottsdale this week, I would love to hear a chant that echoes around the hole and reverberates in Knous’ mind for the rest of his life. 

“HARD K! HARD K! HARD K!” 

Do it again and again. Start it as Knous emerges from the tunnel and walks to the tee, and continue it throughout his swing – I promise he won't mind – and let it wash over him as he walks to the green. (Note to Golf Channel: Knous goes off the 1st tee at 1:50 MT on Thursday and off the 10th at 9:10 on Friday. You don’t want to miss it.) 

This is probably Knous’ last PGA Tour event. Now 34, he will finally put to use that engineering degree he earned 11 years ago from the Colorado School of Mines. On Feb. 26, he will begin a job as an engineer at Ping. It will be his first real job outside of playing professional golf. Don't get me wrong. He still loves the game, but the life of a grinder when you have three little ones at home isn't easy. In 2022, Knous spent 197 nights on the road. One-hundred and ninety-seven. 

So the visit to the beer line can wait. I know there are a few groups with no big names, but hold on for a few minutes while I tell you the rest of Hard K's story. 

You see, it took Knous five trips to Q school to get his Korn Ferry Tour card. During those years, he was grinding on the mini-tours, but the Knous family made it work financially with help from family and friends. Heidi, Hard K’s better half, has always been the rock in the family, working and caring for the couple’s growing brood. She will be there this week. This is as much about her as it is her husband. She needs to hear the chants. 

In 2018, seven years after turning pro, Knous earned his PGA Tour card for the 2019 season. There were tears, just like there will be this week. In his first start as a PGA Tour member, he finished T-10 in Napa. 

He played solidly the rest of the year, adding back-to-back 13th-place finishes in May before bad luck struck. There is no good time for an injury, but during your rookie year on the PGA Tour when you have finally made it to the pinnacle of pro golf has to be among the worst. He injured his wrist, and it would require surgery. 

The next 18 months were filled with a lot of frustration. The rehab didn't progress as quickly as he hoped. Knous longed for the life on Tour but loved being home every day with Heidi and the kids. 

He finally returned to the PGA Tour in 2021 and played well enough to keep his card that season. The following year was a struggle, and in the middle of the season, he told his caddie, "This isn't fun." At the end of that season he lost his PGA Tour card, and he and Heidi talked about him staying home. 

Last season he played on the Korn Ferry Tour but struggled, and the decision was made: It was time to stop playing full-time. 

“HARD K! HARD K! HARD K!” 

Knous approached Ping, which has supported him throughout his career, to see if there might be a job for him. There was. 

Knowing he had only a few weeks before he started his desk job, Knous wanted to play a few more Mondays to see if, just once more, he could defy the odds and earn a start on the PGA Tour, something he hadn't done since the end of 2022.

A couple of weeks ago, he played the Farmers Monday Q, and although he played solidly, he fell four shots short. That led to his last attempt on Monday at Pinnacle Peak Country Club. The field for the qualifier was, as it always is, stacked. It included players with a combined $250 million in career PGA Tour earnings. There wasn't much chance he would get through, right? His career would most likely end in obscurity at a qualifier.

Not so fast. (I told you that beer could wait.) 

Late in the day, Knous finished off a 7-under 65, earning a spot in a four-for-three playoff. If he could survive the playoff in the day’s fading light, he’d get one more shot. With his former college coach on the bag, Knous lined up a two-foot par putt. Jacob Bridgeman, also in the playoff, had made a bogey. All Knous had to do was make this putt and he would have a Thursday tee time. 

Knous took his time and knocked it in. He was going to play one more PGA Tour event.

If that story doesn't make you feel romantic about Monday qualifiers, I can't help you. One more trip around a PGA Tour event will include at least two strolls through the coliseum that is the 16th hole. 

Soon after he qualified, phone calls were made and everyone scrambled to secure travel arrangements to get from Denver to Phoenix. Heidi and the couple's three kids, Brady, Annie, and Mary, are there. Jim's dad, step-mom, and grandparents are coming too, along with about 30 friends. 

Of course, Knous wanted one more start for himself, but he also wanted one more for all those who helped make his career possible: Heidi, his dad, Steve, the kids and so many others. A lot of pictures will be taken, and when his kids are older, they will watch the madness at the 16th hole on TV and their dad will remind them how they were all there when he made the last start of his career at the 2024 Waste Management Open. And how fans chanted his name. 

“HARD K! HARD K! HARD K!”

Look around while you are chanting and search for Heidi; I promise she will be crying. She spent a lot of lonely nights with the kids, but she happily did it for Jim. And watch for Steve, who caddied for his son at times and was always there for him. If you see a man shedding tears of joy, you’ve probably spotted him.

If Jim hits a bad one, boo his ass. He will love that–another memory to share with his kids. "Dad pulled this wedge into the bunker," they’ll say. And if he makes birdie? You know what to do. But no matter his score, cheer him as he bids farewell to a hard-fought career at the loudest hole in golf. 

This will be Knous' 44th PGA Tour event, and he has played almost another 100 on the Korn Ferry Tour in his 11 years as a pro. He has made 20 cuts on the big circuit and pocketed $822,515. He will always be able to say he made it to the PGA Tour and was good enough to hang around for a couple of years. 

"I'm very proud of my career, but it's time to be a dad," Knous says. "I'm just going to enjoy everything about this week, no matter what." 

So let's make it memorable, fans. Stay in your seats after Scottie, Rickie, and Max pass through. Jimmy Hard K will be coming through that tunnel soon after. 

“HARD K! HARD K! HARD K!”

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