I first met William on the practice green at White Deer Golf Course. I just closed up, and I was stroking some putts. I couldn’t buy a five-footer, and I was struggling. All of a sudden, a nine-year-old kid appeared from the shadows.

HEY MISTER. YOU SHOULD TRY MOVING YOUR EYES OVER THE BALL. YOUR ALIGNMENT IS POOR. HERE. DO THIS DRILL. THAT SHOULD HELP.

Bang. It was like magic. I started draining everything. Could it be this simple? My new best friend definitely helped me. Thanks, kid. I rewarded him with a Lincoln. That’s five dollars.

It’s hard to believe that was going back 15 summers. No. I haven’t seen much of William, but we are still chums. I followed him throughout high school and in college. Knauth was off the charts in Williamsport Area. He was one of the best ever. William won three straight District 4 crowns. He wasn’t only a stud golfer. William was also a talented singer and violinist. He was just brilliant. A high honor student. Ridiculously smart. Scary actually.

William continued to shine at Carnegie Mellon. Academics were one thing. Golf was another. Knauth had a scoring average of 71.5 in his senior season. That is insane. My man took full advantage of Mellon’s resources. He was a star. Both on and off the course. William led the Tartans to the NCAA Division 3 Golf Championships. He also won some major hardware.

I came across an article on William earlier this week. It wasn’t from a local publication. William Knauth was trending nationally. I first saw his name on PGATOUR.com, then again on the GOLF CHANNEL.

My young friend is in the field at the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship on a sponsor exemption after winning the 2022 Byron Nelson Award, given to a graduating senior for his achievements on the course, in the classroom, and in the community. William is the first D3 athlete to win the prize since 2008, and he beat many highly ranked D1 golfers. The AT&T Byron Nelson will be his first professional tournament. Say what? WILLIAM?

Yes. My man William Knauth is playing on the PGA TOUR this week. That is fantastic. I reached out to him immediately.

THANKS, COACH. I WILL DO MY BEST. I PLAN TO WEAR THE WHITE DEER LOGO ON FRIDAY FOR LUCK.

William is currently hanging in. My man carded a first-round 79 on a very difficult course. I and many others were tuned in. I did not see him on television, but I tracked every swing with my phone. Forget making the cut. What an amazing experience. My little friend is rubbing elbows inside the ropes. PGATOUR.com just released another article. WHAT’S IN THE BAG OF THE PH.D. STUDENT? William doesn’t have any sponsors. He learned how to play by watching YouTube.

Knauth totally gets it. His maturity and Midi-chlorian levels are STUPENDOUS. He has entertained the idea of playing professionally. We all have. But William is content with just being William. A graduate student seeking a Ph.D. in Statistics at Columbia University. He actually had to skip two finals to play this week in Dallas, TX.

“I really haven’t much time to practice or prepare,” Knauth told reporters. “I am pretty busy with my research. My game is where it should be or where it was. But I will do my best and keep things in perspective.”

Round 2 is currently underway. My man Will teed off number 10 at 8:00 a.m. He is EVEN for the day and 8 over par. Young William just piped one 331 yards down the fairway.

“My goal this week isn’t to prove that I can compete,” William explained. “No matter how good I get or what scores I post, there are a lot of people who are better than me. But no one else in the field is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Statistics. That’s me. Instead of pretending that I can be the best, it’s just trying to find something unique to what I am doing here.”

Congrats to William. What a great story. And to have him respond brought back so many memories. I can’t wait to see him. Hear all about his experiences. This is incredible. My man Will just made a four-footer for par on the 11th hole of the Byron Nelson. Great stuff. Cheers.