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Cheyenne Knight dropped her putter to the ground, raised her hands above her head and pressed them together. She looked to the heavens, where her brother Brandon is along with her heavenly Father. Knight is a strong woman of faith, having experienced loss at an early age when Brandon was killed by a drunk driver traveling down the wrong side of the road.
Knight, 22, plays in Brandon’s memory, her path and purpose in life strengthened by the belief that he’s with her on this dream journey.
“This is for Brandon,” Knight said after winning her first LPGA title with her card on the line.
Cheyenne Knight celebrates after winning the Volunteers of America Classic golf tournament at the Old American Golf Club on October 6, 2019 in The Colony, Texas. (Chuck Burton/Getty Images)
Last Sunday, Knight endured a bizarre penalty after a flying divot accidentally moved her ball in the final round in Indiana. If she found herself in contention at the Volunteers of America, Knight noted, that penalty might come back to haunt her when it comes to keeping her card.
From a flying divot to flying high, Knight can kiss Q-Series goodbye. Instead the rookie can now turn her attention to possibly getting into some fall Asian events as well as the CME Group Tour Championship. She is projected to move from 114th to 48th in the Race to the CME Globe with 704 points.
Knight came into the week 120th on the money list with $71,346. She earned $195,000 thanks to a closing 66 that put her at 18-under 266. The Texan, who grew up 65 miles from the Old American Golf Club in Aledo, became the fourth American to win on the LPGA, joining Lexi Thompson, Nelly Korda and Cydney Clanton. She’s also the first player from Alabama to win on the LPGA.
After a more than lackluster year on the LPGA for American golfers, it was a red-white-and-blue board in Texas with Brittany Altomare and Jaye Marie Green finishing two strokes back. All three were looking for their first LPGA victory.
The ultra-steady Altomare three-putted from just off the green for bogey on the 72nd hole.
“I think the more I put myself, I keep saying this,” said Altomare, “but I think the more I put myself in those situations, eventually, statistically, I feel like it has to happen, so we’ll see.”
Cheyenne Knight celebrates with her caddie after winning the Volunteers of America Classic golf tournament at the Old American Golf Club on October 6, 2019 in The Colony, Texas. (Chuck Burton/Getty Images)
Knight said there were some dark places in her rookie year on the LPGA. She recently switched back to the putter she used in college and shallowed out her swing to get back her signature draw. After bogeying the last two holes to miss the cut in Portland, Knight told herself that she had to be mentally tougher too.
“I just like, I was like play Cheyenne Knight golf, you don’t need to be anyone else,” she said. “I may not bomb it, but I know where my ball’s going and I didn’t know where my ball was going some part of the season. Yeah, just back to the basics.”
Knight’s favorite number is 33, her brother’s football number. Knight shot 33-33 on Sunday in Texas, with back-to-back chip-ins for birdie and plenty of family and friends outside the ropes cheering her on.
“I think I had a second caddie out there, and I know he’s watching in heaven,” said Knight, “just so proud of me. It’s incredible, I just can’t really put it into words right now.”
