Colt Knost at 2007 Walker Cup

The 2009 PGA Tour officially welcomes its newest "rookie" at this week's Sony Open in Hawaii.

Colt Knost, however, is no rookie to competition on the Tour, even though they call him one. In the past 2 years, he's played in 9 PGA tournaments on sponsor's exemptions.

Nor is Colt Knost an unknown coming out of college. This 23 year old Texan from Dallas is the former US Amateur champion and Public Links champion in 2007 and, of course, he led the US Walker Cup to victory over the British team in 07, as well.

Last year, he picked up a couple of wins on the Nationwide Tour.

So he's more than ready for his tenure on the PGA Tour this year.

It's an exciting time for professional golf; Colt Knost joins the ranks of young players like Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas, Daniel Chopra, Jason Gore and many others.

Hopefully, as the world's top 10 cut back on the number of tournaments they play each year, the young guns will keep the entertainment meter peaking on a weekly basis.

Colt Knost will certainly be happy to contribute his share.