Many people criticized Colt Knost when the Texan decided to forego an invitation to the 2008 Masters and exemptions to the '08 U.S. Open and British Open by turning pro after the 2007 Walker Cup Match.

But Knost, who became just the second player in history to claim the U.S. Amateur Public Links and U.S. Amateur titles in the same year (Ryan Moore achieved the feat in 2004), stood steadfast to the decision.

Having already graduated from Southern Methodist University and achieving his goal of representing the USA in the Walker Cup at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland, Knost, 23, felt ready to start making a living, even if meant giving up the chance to play Augusta National and Torrey Pines. To get those exemptions, Knost would have had to remain amateur and put the professional tours on hold for at least six months. He didn't want to wait that long.

While he failed to garner a 2008 PGA Tour card at Qualifying School last fall, Knost managed to earn playing privileges on the Nationwide Tour, where the top-25 finishers on the money list automatically qualify for the PGA Tour the following season.

Former U.S. Amateur champ Ricky Barnes was on the right side of the Nationwide Tour money list in 2008. (USGA Museum)

With two victories and two other top-five showings, including this past week's Nationwide Tour Championship in McKinney, Texas, Knost placed sixth on the money list ($329,509) and will be among the rookie class next year on the PGA Tour.

Knost joins four others with USGA ties - Ricky Barnes, Spencer Levin, Bryce Molder and Casey Wittenberg - among the 25 players who graduated from the 2008 Nationwide Tour to the PGA Tour. Only Molder has previously owned a PGA Tour card.

"The first four months of the year I was second-guessed by everybody and I didn't think it was fair," Knost told The Associated Press about his decision. "I proved I did the right thing for me. I don't know what else I can do."

This past Sunday, Knost carded a final-round 65 at the TPC at Craig Ranch to share third in the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship. It was his best finish since winning the Price Cutter Charity Championship Presented by Dr. Pepper on July 20. In May, Knost collected his first professional victory by claiming the Fort Smith Classic in Arkansas.

Knost also played in four PGA Tour events in 2008 on sponsor's exemptions, making the cut at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico in February.

Two years ago, Barnes, the 2002 U.S. Amateur champion and a member of the victorious '02 USA World Amateur Team, missed qualifying for the PGA Tour by less than $1,000. But a final-round 71 on Sunday earned the Scottsdale, Ariz., resident a tie for 37th and $5,000, good enough to collect the 25th and final PGA Tour card. He was finally headed to the PGA Tour after four seasons on the Nationwide circuit.

Barnes, who defeated current PGA Tour star Hunter Mahan in the 2002 Amateur final at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., edged David Branshaw by $3,582 for the final spot.

"In 2006, I was the odd man out," Barnes told The Associated Press . "I guess now I'm the odd man in. The breaks finally went my way."

Like Barnes, Molder seemed destined for stardom after a decorated amateur that included two Walker Cup appearances (1999 and 2001) and one appearance in the World Amateur Team Championship (2000) for the USA. In 2007, Molder earned a promotion to the PGA Tour after finishing 22nd on the '06 Nationwide Tour money list, only to make just seven of 21 cuts and finish with slightly more than $250,000 in earnings.

Molder entered this week's Tour Championship ranked 32 nd on the money list and looked to be heading to Qualifying School. But he opened with rounds of 67-67-64 to share the 54-hole lead. But he managed to survive bogeys at 16 and 17 with a par at 18 to shoot a 71 and move nine spots up to No. 23 on the money list.

"My hands were shaking on the final putt," said Molder, a former All-American at Georgia Tech who now lives in Scottsdale. "This is what we work for. I gave myself a chance on the back nine Saturday and took advantage of it [on Sunday]."

Levin, a member of the 2004 USA World Amateur Team and the low amateur at the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, where he tied for 13th, had two different seasons on tour this year. He started by missing the cut in seven of his first nine starts, but then made the cut in 17 of his last 19 events, including a third at the Oregon Classic and a tie for fourth at the WNB Golf Classic. The Elk Grove, Calif., native finished a spot ahead of Molder at No. 22 on the money list and will be a rookie on the PGA Tour in 2009.

Wittenberg, the runner-up at the 2003 U.S. Amateur to Nick Flanagan at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club and a member of the '03 USA Walker Cup team, raised eyebrows by turning pro after his freshman season at Oklahoma State in 2004. He toiled on various tour, including the Hooters Tour, before earning status on the Nationwide Tour for the 2008 season.

And despite not winning an event, Wittenberg still finished 15th on the money list with $271,919 in earnings. He lost in a playoff at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic in Canada to 2008 U.S. Open qualifier Justin Hicks and was solo third at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic in Georgia. The Memphis, Tenn., native also tied for third at Bank of America Open in Chicago. In June he qualified for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where he missed the cut with rounds of 72-78.

He played in three other PGA Tour events in 2008, tying for fourth at the PGA Tour's Viking Classic in Mississippi, earning $148,800, and tying for 43rd at the Turning Stone Resort Championship in Verona, N.Y.

Matt Bettencourt of Greenville, S.C., was the Nationwide Tour's leading money winner with $447,035, edging Zimbabwe-born Brendon de Jonge by just more than $10,000.

The full-field 2009 PGA Tour season begins in January with the Sony Open of Hawaii.