WINTER GARDEN, Fla. - Colorado School of Mines golf alumnus Jim Knous has earned his Web.com Tour card after a T23 finish at the Qualifying Tournament at Orange County National in Florida.
 
As a result of his finish, Knous will earn guaranteed entry into the first eight events of the Web.com 2017 schedule, starting with the Panama Claro Championship on Jan. 28-31 in Panama City. Other tour stops in the first eight dates include Bogota and Cartagena, Colombia; Broussard, La.; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Guanajuato, Mexico; Newburgh, Ind.; and Raleigh, N.C.

Knous is the first Oredigger - and first RMAC alumnus - to earn a full-time professional tour card. He came in at -6 for the tournament, carding 70 in each round and finishing with three birdies in his last five holes to secure his exemptions. 

Knous, who played for Mines from 2008 to 2012, was an all-American in 2012 finishing tied for the lead at the NCAA Division II national championship. He was the 2012 RMAC Player of the Year, a two-time PING All-Region pick, and a four-time First-Team All-RMAC selection. As a senior he finished second in the GolfStat D-II rankings. 

An accomplished amateur, Knous tied for first in the 2010 Colorado Golf Association State Stroke Play Championship, was the a medalist in the 2011 U.S. Amateur Sectional Qualifying at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, and holds the course records at Boulder Country Club and Heritage at Eagle Bend. 

As a professional, Knous has had numerous top-10 finishes around the country, highlighted by a win in his first pro outing at the Navajo Trail Open in 2012 and a victory at the 2013 Golden State Tour Event. He has competed in Web.com Q-School four times, finally breaking through in 2016. This season, he won the San Juan Open in New Mexico, was fourth at the Colorado Open, and was runner-up at the Rocky Mountain Open, Oregon Trail Pro Am, and Sand Hollow Open. 

The Web.com Tour is the developmental circuit for the PGA Tour, featuring professional golfers trying to reach the top level of pro golf. The top 25 on the year-end money list earn PGA Tour cards the following season. Notable tour alumni include two-time major winner Zach Johnson, 2016 PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker, 2009 British Open champion Stewart Cink, and 1996 British Open champion Tom Lehman.