THERE is something fundamentally decent about Scotland’s new golf superstar, Russell Knox.
On Sunday at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut, Knox dramatically sunk a 12-foot clutch putt on the last green to cement his place as one of the world’s top golfers.
The Travelers in not just any old golf event. Outside the majors it is one of the key PGA tournaments and attracts most of the very top players. Appropriately for Inverness-born and raised Russell, his triumph took place on the River Highlands course.
Knox now ranks in that elevated company himself, surging to fourth in this season’s Fedexcup ratings, above the boy wonder Jordan Spieth, and breaking into the the world top20.
Russell is thought of as a quiet and composed man but his celebration in sinking that final putt was of epic proportions with an exuberant throw of his cap which could have gained him entry into the discus competition of any Highland Games.
In his post-match interviews he reverted to his normal modest style, revealing that he wakes up every morning telling himself than he has the ability to compete with the top players and pondering on his good luck.
In fact his good fortune is all merited. He has established his position the hard way, graduating through the second golf tier in the USA and on to the main Tour. Appropriately enough, given that Jim Furyk scored a historic 58 in The Travelers on Sunday, Knox himself is one of the “59 Club”, achieving that feat in the second round of the Albertsons Boise Open on the Web.com Tour in 2013.
Sunday’s climax was one of the most exciting on the PGA Tour this year as golfer after golfer fell by the wayside to the dangerous and remodeled finish of the River Highlands course. Amid all of this fuss and clamour Knox stayed rock steady and focused, culminating in that famous putt on the last green.
Many golfing journalists have previously suggested that his putting had been letting down his straight driving and the excellence of his approach play. However, the dedicated Knox has been applying himself to the short stick in recent weeks and that epic 12 footer through the light and shade of the final green was the perfect vindication of his approach.
It was a putt which got me out of my armchair and joining in the Knox celebrations. However I doubt if my whooping would have matched that of his sister Dianne, the Glasgow-based Clyde 1 presenter.
At 31, Russell is now approaching the peak of his golfing powers. With his natural stance and low ball flight he has a simplicity of swing which will stand him in good stead in the heat of battle. Now that he has made it into the big time he may be there for many years to come.
Last November Knox announced his arrival by winning the WGCHSBC Champions event in China by two strokes. He was playing in his first such event and became the first Scot ever to win a World Golf Championship.
Knox only qualified for the tournament as seventh reserve and third alternate and only made it to Shanghai thanks to some quick thinking and even quicker visa form filling from his wife, the former tennis player Andrea Hernandez. After the win, Knox became a European Tour member in the hope of playing for Europe in the Ryder Cup.
Indeed, if his WGC ranking points were counted, Knox would already be assured of his place, but undaunted Russell set himself a busy European schedule this summer to stake his claim. He secured a fine second place to Rory McIlroy in the Irish Open before a top-10 performance at his native Castle Stuart near Inverness, and then a decent finish in The Open itself.
Combining these results with his consistency on the PGA Tour, this has now brought him to the cusp of an automatic Ryder Cup place. In addition, European captain Darren Clarke is no mug and he will be very well aware that a two-time winner on the PGA tour would sail into Team USA and therefore would also be a great pick for Europe.
It is unlikely that fame and fortune will change this lovely man. Knox has always been willing to turn up for the club gold events to help the juniors when in Scotland.
However, this year at Castle Stuart I saw another charming side to his character. I was asking about one of his old school chums at Culloden Academy who had asked to be remembered to him. Not only did he recognise her name immediately but was then genuinely interested how she was getting on in life.
Scotland is fortunate indeed to have one of the nice guys as a new sporting icon.
The modest man of golf is making his move.
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