Career Highlights

• Iowa Golf Standout: Named IGA Player of the Year in 1998 after winning the Iowa Masters, Fort Dodge Amateur and Lake Creek Amateur. He finished that summer’s five highlighted events a combined 30-under-par, with a 69.6 scoring average.
• Successful Iowa State Career: Earned a golf scholarship to Iowa State University and became one of the program’s most accomplished players.
• Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2019 as the only men’s golfer inducted into the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame.
• Outstanding Collegiate Record:
  -First-team All-Big Eight selection in 1997.
  -Ranked No. 20 nationally by Golfstat at the end of the 1997 season.
  -Played in four NCAA regional tournaments.
  -Set a school single-season scoring average record of 72.71 that stood for 11 years.
  -Recorded three collegiate victories, five runner-up finishes and a school-record 18 top-10 finishes.
• Successful Professional Career: Turned professional in 1999 and competed on the Asian Tour and European Tour for more than a decade, earning more than $2 million across the two tours.
• Macau Open Champion (2004, 2005): Captured the 2004 Macau Open in China, defeating a field that included Padraig Harrington, then ranked eighth in the world. Successfully defended his title in 2005, shooting 67 in the opening round while paired with golf idol Fred Couples.
• Additional International Victory: Won the 2007 Motorola International and recorded six top-10 finishes in European Tour events.
• Major Championship Experience: Qualified for the U.S. Open (2003) and The Open Championship (2011), along with the U.S. Amateur (1998), U.S. Public Links (1996, 1997) and U.S. Junior Amateur (1994).
• PGA Tour Pursuit: Reached the final stage of PGA Tour qualifying twice, in 2000 and 2008, and also pursued a Tour opportunity through the Korn Ferry Tour in 2009.
• Continued Success in Iowa: Won the Herman Sani Tournament in 2005 and made the cut at the John Deere Classic that same year.
• Remarkable Return to Macau: On the 20th anniversary of his 2004 victory, received a sponsor’s exemption into the Macau Open. At age 48 and a decade removed from the competitive grind, he made the cut and finished tied for 63rd.
• Growing the Game: Opened Jason Knutzon Golf in Altoona in 2021 and remains active in golf as an instructor, sharing his professional experience with the next generation of players.

Jason Knutzon faced a tough decision on the eve of his senior season of high school.

He could leave Newport News, Va., and move with his family to Italy. His father, Russell, an Air Force pilot, had just been transfered there. Or he could move to Eagle Grove, live with his grandparents and complete his education in Iowa.

There were no high school golf teams in Italy, and not that many golf courses to choose from. So Jason, who took up the game in seventh grade, headed to Iowa. And that’s where his golf career took flight.

Iowa State made Knutzon’s dream come true when the Cyclones offered him a golf scholarship, and he parlayed that opportunity into state, national and international success.
The only men’s golfer to be inducted into the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame (2019), this golfing globetrotter had success in college events as well as Iowa’s summer tournament schedule.

He played in four NCAA regionals for the Cyclones, and was a first-team all-Big Eight selection in 1997. Golfstat ranked him 20th at the end of that 1997 season. Knutzon set a school single-season stroke mark (72.71) that stood for 11 years. He finished in the top eight of eight tournaments in 1996-97. That spring, Iowa State finished third in the loaded Big 12 Championships.

He won three tournaments, was a runner-up five times and finished in the Top 10 a school-record 18 times over his career. After a redshirt season, in 1997-98, he completed his eligibility in the spring of 1999.

Knutzon was also the IGA Player of the Year in 1998, beating Mike McCoy in a tiebreaker. He won the Iowa Masters, Fort Dodge Amateur and Lake Creek Amateur that summer. He also tied for second at the Ottumwa Amateur and tied for fifth in the Northwest Amateur, a tournament he won in 1996. In those five 1998 appearances, Knutzon was a collective 30 shots under par with a 69.6 stroke average.

Knutzon turned professional in 1999. He qualified for the U.S. Open (2003), the Open Championship (2011), the U.S. Amateur (1998), the U.S. Public Links (1996, 1997) and the U.S. Junior Amateur (1994) during his career.

He reached the final stage of qualifying for the PGA Tour twice (2000, 2008), and tried make it there another time through the Korn Ferry Tour (2009). Though he came up short, Knutzon still put together a successful professional career on the Asian Tour and European Tour.

He won more than $2 million on those two tours. He reached the winner’s circle twice. The first came when he outdueled Padraig Harrington to win the 2004 Macau Open. Harrington was ranked eighth in the world at that time.

When Knutzon defended that title a year later, he was paired in the first round with Fred Couples, one of his idols. Knutzon shot 67 and beat Couples by a shot.

Jason also won the 2007 Motorola International. He also had six Top 10 finishes in European Tour events. He was ranked as high as 243th in the World Golf Rankings.

Back home, Knutzon won the Sani Tournament in 2005. He also made the cut in the John Deere Classic that year and qualified for the PGA Tour stop again in 2008.

On the 20th anniversary of his Macau Open, Knutzon was given a sponsor’s exemption into the event. Ten years removed from the competitive grind and 48 years old, Knutzon made the cut and tied for 63rd.

Knutzon remains active in the game and is also an instructor, opening Jason Knutzon Golf in Altoona in 2021.