A win at the Inspirato Colorado Open was missing from Jim Knous’ resume.

The Basalt native has played all over world, including time on the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and DP World Tour. But a win at one of the more prestigious state opens at home always eluded him.

That drought ended Sunday after 22 holes in the final round at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.

“(It feels) incredible to join the list of past champions,” Knous told Colorado Avid Golfer. “This has been one I’ve always wanted to win and to do it in a fashion like that with a little walk-off eagle, slam-dunk, one-hop … that was pretty incredible.”

The former Colorado School of Mines star needed a banner Sunday to pull off the win. He fired a 62, the lowest final round in tournament history, to tie 2019 champion Sam Saunders. That sent Knous and Sanders, an assistant golf coach at the University of New Mexico, to a playoff for the title.

The playoff started with the players tying the first three holes with two pars and a bogey. The fourth playoff hole — the par-5 18th — provided the fireworks Knous needed to get the win.

He holed out from 69 yards for eagle out to claim his first Inspirato Colorado Open.

“I was shocked that it went in,” he said. “I knew it was going to be good when I hit it, but when everybody started going crazy, I was in shock.”

Knous had plenty of heartbreak in a playoff during the 2024 Inspirato Colorado Open. He was on the verge of winning the title but fell to Davis Bryant on the second playoff hole. Bryant has gone on a big run in pro golf since that win, including stops on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour.

But Knous is on a different path after his win at Green Valley Ranch. He retired from professional golf after the 2024 Waste Management Open, where he finished in the top 30. Now, he works for Ping as a club fitter and engineer.

He has commented about returning to pro golf. Perhaps a win like Sunday’s gets his competitive thoughts flowing again.

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Fitzgerald wins Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship

Meadow Hills Golf Course’s Caine Fitzgerald added another trophy to a full trophy room.

On Tuesday, the Parker resident won the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship at The Fox Hill Club in Longmont. Fitzgerald has won the Colorado PGA Professional Championship and the Colorado Assistant PGA Professional Championship four times.

Fitzgerald shot a 2-over-par 72 to finish at 1-under par overall for the 36-hole event. The top eight finishers in the tournament qualified for Senior PGA Professional Championship on Oct. 23-26 in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

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After three strong weeks, Clark in good spot in FedEx standings

Colorado native Wyndham Clark has not had the season he wanted on or off the course, but a recent hot streak has him in a good position heading into the FedEx Cup playoffs next week.

Clark, who withdrew from this week’s Wyndham Championship, finished 11th at the Genesis Scottish Open, fourth at the British Open and 12th at the 3M Open in his last three starts. Those performances moved him up to 48th in the FedEx Cup standings. The top 70 play in the first tournament of the playoffs in Memphis.

Clark has only two top 10s in 21 starts this season. He also has been in the news off the course due to him damaging lockers at Oakmont Country Club during the U.S. Open.

The Valor Christian grad is playing the best golf of the season and could keep it going to finish the year. Last season, he finished eighth in the FedEx Cup standings.

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What they’re saying

“I haven’t played in an official event for 4.5 years, although I do play in some outings whenever the occasion is right. So, I guess I’m retired. Sally (Irwin’s wife) and I make periodic trips to get away, particularly in the summer, and we try to keep up with the grandkids as much as possible. That’s pretty much what I do, coupled with the occasional business venture to oil the skids.”

—Colorado golf icon Hale Irwin to the University of Colorado’s Dave Plati

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Skins game

Odds to win Wyndham Championship

Matt Fitzpatrick +2000

Aaron Rai +2200

Ben Griffin +2500

Keegan Bradley +2500

Jordan Spieth +3000

Robert MacIntry +3000

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This week in golf

PGA Tour

WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Greensboro, N.C.

Course: Sedgefield CC. Yardage: 7,131. Par: 70.

Prize money: $8.2 million. Winner’s share: $1.476 million.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (Golf), 1-4 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Aaron Rai.

LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour

AIG WOMEN’S BRITISH OPEN

Site: Porthcawl, Wales.

Course: Royal Porthcawl GC. Yardage: 6,580. Par: 72.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 5 a.m.-noon (USA Network); Saturday-Sunday, 5-10 a.m. (USA Network), 10 a.m.-noon (NBC).

Prize money: $9.5 million. Winner’s share: $1.425 million.

Defending champion: Lydia Ko.

Korn Ferry Tour

UTAH CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Ogden, Utah.

Course: Ogden Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,045. Par: 71.

Prize money: $1 million. Winner’s share: $180,000.

Television: Thursday-Saturday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf); Sunday, 5-7 p.m. (Golf).

Previous winner: Karl Vilips.

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FedEx Cup standings

                             Points  Money

1. Scottie Scheffler 4,806 $19,202,883

2. Rory McIlroy 3,444 $16,156,418

3. Sepp Straka 2,595 $10,014,894

4. Russell Henley 2,391 $9,628,056

5. Justin Thomas 2,280 $9,502,662

6. Harris English 2,232 $7,734,152

7. Ben Griffin 2,212 $8,134,502

8. J.J. Spaun 2,144 $10,142,222

9. Tommy Fleetwood 1,783 $6,426,238

10. Keegan Bradley 1,749 $7,184,645

11. Maverick McNealy 1,672 $6,312,575

12. Andrew Novak 1,625 $6,503,499

13. Corey Conners 1,620 $5,397,936

14. Ludvig Aberg 1,559 $6,708,473

15. Robert Macintyre 1,479 $5,716,240

16. Shane Lowry 1,438 $6,255,194

17. Nick Taylor 1,438 $4,794,542

18. Collin Morikawa 1,427 $6,996,394

19. Brian Harman 1,413 $4,518,743

20. Chris Gotterup 1,306 $3,934,837

21. Patrick Cantlay 1,275 $4,405,606

22. Sam Burns 1,266 $4,515,315

23. Hideki Matsuyama 1,265 $5,637,394

24. Justin Rose 1,220 $4,689,476

25. Viktor Hovland 1,210 $4,408,073

26. Lucas Glover 1,191 $4,235,243

27. Sam Stevens 1,182 $4,050,486

28. Daniel Berger 1,167 $4,057,849

29. Ryan Gerard 1,158 $3,607,522

30. Sungjae Im 1,142 $4,192,567

31. Ryan Fox 1,126 $3,844,647

32. Brian Campbell 1,104 $3,174,659

33. Jacob Bridgeman 1,095 $3,463,183

34. Thomas Detry 1,080 $3,491,376

35. Michael Kim 1,075 $3,466,573

36. Jason Day 1,070 $3,418,361

37. Taylor Pendrith 1,035 $3,466,952

38. Tom Hoge 1,026 $3,957,533

39. Denny McCarthy 971 $3,381,335

40. Cameron Young 964 $3,195,646

41. Xander Schauffele 953 $3,050,200

42. Aldrich Potgieter 941 $2,950,266

43. Matt Fitzpatrick 937 $3,130,630

44. Akshay Bhatia 909 $3,306,854

45. Si Woo Kim 882 $3,174,844

46. Harry Hall 877 $2,745,384

47. Jake Knapp 871 $2,968,801

48. Wyndham Clark 853 $2,818,592

49. Min Woo Lee 851 $3,068,086

50. Jordan Spieth 840 $3,021,450

51. Bud Cauley 831 $2,803,843

52. Joe Highsmith 828 $2,764,819

53. Kurt Kitayama 817 $2,532,696

54. J.T. Poston 787 $2,499,566

55. Jhonattan Vegas 783 $2,354,198

56. Max Greyserman 768 $2,809,758

57. Stephan Jaeger 726 $2,477,901

58. Aaron Rai 711 $2,771,710

59. Mackenzie Hughes 704 $2,225,776

60. Tony Finau 681 $2,484,941

61. Rickie Fowler 656 $2,102,669

62. Davis Riley 652 $2,357,691

63. Kevin Yu 645 $2,107,134

64. Erik Van Rooyen 634 $2,085,816

65. Nicolas Echavarria 628 $2,038,390

66. Emiliano Grillo 628 $1,881,192

67. Cameron Davis 616 $2,019,993

68. Patrick Rodgers 616 $2,128,952

69. Byeong Hun An 595 $2,250,267

70. Matti Schmid 595 $1,825,607

71. Nicolai Hojgaard 590 $1,739,651

72. Keith Mitchell 589 $1,695,785

73. Chris Kirk 582 $2,121,325

74. Christiaan Bezuidenhout 575 $2,000,732

75. Gary Woodland 562 $1,874,611