The thrill of a lifetime might have come to an early end for Alex Knoll after missing the cut at the PGA Championship. But, Knoll was still riding high as he made his way home from TPC Harding Park in San Francisco a day after.

“It was such an incredible opportunity and experience,” Knoll said via text message on his flight back, “I wish I would have played better, but I had the opportunity to represent the area in a major and I am very thankful for that.”

Knoll, a Palmerton golf coach, former Liberty Hurricane and current math teacher, carded a 10-over 80 in the second round on Friday. Only 79 of the 156 players in the field made the cut, which was 1-over.

Sergio Garcia (+2), Rickie Fowler (+2), Jim Furyk (+2), Mark Leishman (+2) and Henrik Stenson (+2) were among the notables to also miss the cut.

“I liked my game plan all week but I actually played it backward,” said Knoll “The hard holes were Nos. 2 (par 4), 8 (par 3), 9 (par 4), 12 (par 4), 13 (par 4) and 18 (par 4). I only played them +5 all week.

“My goal was to the play them +8. So I beat that goal by three. I just played the easier holes poorly because of my poor drives off the tee.”

Knoll shot a 77 on the first day of the tournament.

“I felt confident going into Day 2 but drove it just as poorly,” he said. “I am just disappointed in that part because it is my strongest suit. Other than that it was an incredible experience.

“I enjoyed every moment and grinded every shot, but if you are always in the rough you can’t play the course the way it is meant to be played. I had some incredible up and downs for some pars but I had to do that too many times.”

The tournament was one of the many sporting events that has taken place without fans in attendance, though golf enthusiasts likely had no trouble keeping track of the action away from the course.

“Friends and family could follow shot-by-shot on TV and online. PGA Tour golf truly is live shot-by-shot,” said Knoll. “So many people reached out during the week to give support which was so amazing.

“Playing without fans was interesting but probably made it easier for me to try and grind every shot instead of losing focus on my surroundings.”

Knoll will have a quick turnaround as he prepared for the 104th Pennsylvania Open Championship, which took place last week.

After that, he will focus on helping the Palmerton golf team try to repeat its success from a year ago.

The Blue Bombers went undefeated (13-0) in the Colonial League last season and took second place at the league championship.

Palmerton also captured the program’s first-ever District 11 Class 2A team title and saw freshman Tyler Hager, the Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Golfer of the Year, qualify for states.

But for now, Knoll is still on Cloud 9.