MINNEAPOLIS – Just moments before his victory in the 63rd U.S. Senior Amateur Thursday morning at the Minikahda Club, Sean Knapp was in tears. Having reached his first final in a USGA championship in 43 tries, Knapp didn’t need any distractions, and he usually refrains from checking his phone as he warms up. This time he couldn’t help himself, and he noticed a text from a family friend back home in Oakmont, Pa., who wrote that Sean’s late father “had such pride with you playing golf. And I can tell right now that he’s smiling.”
“I’m sitting there like, ‘I’ve got to play here soon,’ ” Knapp said. “But, you know, that just made this whole week all the more meaningful.”
Knapp managed to steady himself, and although he didn’t convert a birdie in the final, his scrambling and putting were more than enough to upend former two-time winner Paul Simson, 2 and 1.
If at first you don’t succeed, try 42 more times.