Eric Knapp - 1960-2009

[George Pazin]

I'm sorry to be sharing this with the group, and I wish I had shared it sooner.

Eric's story was shared with the site a couple years ago - I'll try to find the thread - but he lost his battle with cancer on October 19, 2009. Thanks to one of the many special posters on this site, he was able to experience a special time last fall out in Monterey.

Click HERE for more.

Eric requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Hillman Cancer Center:UPMC - Hillman Cancer Center

P.S. As of now, several of Eric's friends are working to keep his course open; I'll try to update you in the spring.

Click HERE for a link to Eric's course.

[TEPaul]

George:

I just read that obituary but before I did I was just totally struck how much Eric looks like Sean Knapp, the super West Pennsylvania amateur. I did not see Sean Knapp's name mentioned in the obit though. I wonder if they were first cousins as they sure do look so much alike.

[George Pazin]

Hi Tom -

I asked Eric about that once, he said no, he was not from the area originally (I believe he was from New Jersey originally), but he did get people asking him quite frequently if he was related to Sean.

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For those who don't know, Sean Knapp is a top amateur golfer in the western PA region. I believe he lost to Tiger in one of the match play round of his US Am triumphs.

[TEPaul]

"For those who don't know, Sean Knapp is a top amateur golfer in the western PA region. I believe he lost to Tiger in one of the match play round of his US Am triumphs."

GeorgeP:

I don't recall Tiger Woods playing Sean Knapp in one of his three straight US Amateur wins but that sure doesn't mean much if I can't recall it at this time. All that info might be very trackable on the USGA's website somewhere.

I will tell you some interesting trivia, though, about one of Woods' opponents in one of his three straight US Amateur wins----it involves the guy Tiger beat in the finals of his second US Amateur win at Newport which happened to be the centennial of the US Amateur. In that tournament his final round opponent was Philadelphia's Buddy Marucci who happened to play more holes in that Newport US Amateur than any other competitor in the entire history of the US Amateur.

Again, I can certainly understand why you say so many people asked Eric Knapp if he was related to Sean Knapp. I doubt it was because they have the same name----man, does Eric look a lot like Sean Knapp.

[JESII]

Tiger beat Sean a couple rounds before Buddy at Newport...there's actually a funny story about a certain Pittsburgh area pro giving Sean a hard time for asking Tiger for his autograph after losing on 16 or 17.

If I remember correctly, Tiger also beat the older guy from Maine in the semifinals (Mark Plumber?) which would mean three consecutive matches against guys with an average age over 40 in the last three matches of the US Amateur...hasn't happened to often ever I bet...

[Bob_Huntley]

BUMP....


Bob_Huntley
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     A Profile in Courage
« on: June 30, 2008, 07:48:07 PM » Quote Modify 

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It would be well to refresh memories for those who saw the original post and to re-read the article.

See:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08167/890057-13.stm


I met Eric Knapp on Sunday morning prior to his teeing off at Pebble Beach. We had a chat and we arranged to play his last round of golf on the Peninsula today on the Shore Course at MPCC. His brother made up our threesome.

In the meantime I kept up with his scores and was astounded to hear that  he shot a one over 73 at Spyglass and followed up with a four over 76 at Pebble. Today he was two under after twelve holes but fatigue and severe pain saw him fall away to something in the high seventies. I must say it was an rather disconcerting to know that, in extremis,  he could still give me a shot a hole and wax me.

I wish the Tree House gang could have shared our round today, as down the road we will all make the same journey as Eric. He made me realize that bickering over the genesis of a certain golf club or bashing some poor rater over access, is as nothing in the scheme of things.


I learned a great deal about courage today, I certainly hope that I have what he has when the time comes.

Bob   
 
 
 

[Bob_Huntley]

I forgot to mention that I had spoken to my friends in the Pro Shop at Pebble Beach and the staff were very kind. The most generous gesture of the day was that his caddie refused payment for his loop. I have his name  and make sure that visting fireman ask for his services.


Bob

[Sean Leary]

I had not seen this.

Thanks Bob. Just got a little misty in here. My father died of cancer at 42, and one thing I never got to do was play golf with him. I think of him often when I play, especially when I have been fortunate to play some of the special places that I have gotten to play.

I am glad that Eric got to play in Monterey. Can't think of a better place to call it a day.

[George Pazin]

Thanks for sharing those stories, Bob.

Here is the link to the original thread on Eric:

A Golf Course Owner's Tale: a short, tough, but worthwhile read

[JLahrman]

Thanks for the unfortunate update George.  Although the article last year said that his doctor had told him to start thinking in weeks, it looks like he lived nearly another year and a half.  There are many bad diseases out there, but cancer has to be the worst when one considers both its consequences and the number of people it affects.  It would be hard to find a single person who does not know someone close that has suffered from cancer.  The thing I most remembered from the original article was how concerned Eric was about his dog.