BANDON, Ore. – Allie Knight spends her days teaching golf to others in her hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. She often holds camps for youngsters in the mornings and gives lessons in the afternoon. But in between the time spent working on other people's games, she works on her own.
"Usually I try to get out on the course in the morning, try to be the first one off at 7:30 if I can," Knight said. "I play really quick and then I'll be at work giving lessons at noon or 1 until the evening, a lot of times till 8 at night."
Through two days of the 2026 PGA Professional Championship, that work is paying off. Knight is one of nine women in the field of 312 PGA professionals competing at the scenic and pristine Bandon Dunes Golf Resort this week, and she's not simply in the field — she's contending.
Knight fired a 67 on the Bandon Dunes course Sunday and followed it with a 73 Monday on the Pacific Dunes course to finish her first 36 holes in 3 under, comfortably inside the cutline and just five shots off the lead, sitting in a tie for 13th.
Bandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Bandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Bandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Bandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Bandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Bandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Bandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Bandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Pacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Pacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Pacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Pacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Pacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Pacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Pacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.Pacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.1 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilBandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.1 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilBandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.2 / 16Washington golf pro leads after Day 1 of PGA Professional ChampionshipBandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.3 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilBandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.4 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilBandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.5 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilBandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.6 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilBandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.7 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilBandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.8 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilBandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.9 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilPacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.10 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilPacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.11 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilPacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.12 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilPacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.13 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilPacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.14 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilPacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.15 / 16Washington pro extends lead on Day 2 at PGA Professional ChampionshipPacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.16 / 16Photos: Bandon Dunes hosts the PGA Professional Championship in AprilPacific Dunes, the second course to have opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will alternate play with Bandon Dunes during the first two rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon."I've just been hitting the ball really well," Knight told Golfweek on Monday. "[On Sunday] I made a bunch of putts and that's how I got under par. Today, my putter just kind of struggled. I think I had like four or five three-putts out there. I mean the greens are big and it's going to happen. As long as I keep hitting the ball like I am and just get my putter going . . . I know it's going to get windy. I think it's going to get tougher, so just trying to keep my mindset to know that when it gets windy, it's going to be hard and it's okay."
Difficult conditions don't seem to worry Knight, who won the PGA Women's Stroke Play Championship in February to punch her ticket to the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for the sixth straight year. She's never made the cut there, but she also had never made the cut at the PGA Professional Championship in two tries before this year at Bandon Dunes.
Knight isn't eligible to qualify for the men's PGA Championship (the top 20 finishers at Bandon Dunes earn a spot in the field in May at Aronimink), but she's using the opportunity to get ready for Hazeltine.
"I think it's good preparation before the KPMG," said Knight, who played college golf at Middle Tennessee State. "Hopefully you get to play four days, and there's not many tournaments I'm going to play in where I'm playing four days of golf, and that's a lot. So it's preparation for that coming up in June, just being able to to be out here and competing and just keeping that competitive edge going."
And just as the windy conditions don't faze her, neither does teeing it up against the men. She does it all the time back in Knoxville.
"There's definitely a lot of great players there and we've got a good Monday pro-am series that I'll try to play in every Monday, and that's really great to to be at home playing in that and having some really competitive rounds going . . . It's so special to be one of nine [women] out here. I mean, it's always awesome to come out here and represent the PGA as a female. It's always a a special thing."
While Knight might be a long way from home, she has no shortage of support being sent from Tennessee all the way to Oregon.
We've known Allie since she was in middle school, she's the real deal! So happy to see her playing so well on such a huge stage.
"I was born and raised in Knoxville and lived there my whole life other than leaving for college," she said. "I feel like in the golf community there, I've got a great support system and I know a lot of people there. It's always cool to feel that and get all the texts that I've got and everything from everybody cheering me on. It's great."
From Rocky Top to rocky cliffs alongside the Pacific Ocean, it's safe to say Knight's game is traveling quite well.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Female pro from Tennessee contending at PGA Professional Championship