Russell Knox

Two PGA Tour wins in the last 15 months have thrust Knox into the world’s top 20, but it wasn’t enough to earn him a place in the Ryder Cup. John Huggan spoke with his compatriot about his controversial omission and becoming one of golf’s elite players.

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When the 2016 Ryder Cup teed off Russell Knox was the seventh highest-ranked European golfer on the planet – a reigning WGC champion who had secured his second PGA Tour title just seven weeks prior and finished 10th in the FedEx Cup. But as we all know, the Scot wasn’t at Hazeltine. Having narrowly missed out on an automatic place in the team due to his 2015 WGC – HSBC Champions win coming just before he joined the European Tour, Darren Clarke opted to select Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters as his wildcards.

It was a controversial and disappointing end to what was a career season for the 31-year-old, who was born in Inverness but has resided in Florida since attending Jacksonville University. Just six years ago he was struggling to make a living on mini tours, but today Knox is firmly established as Scotland’s best and one of the world’s elite players.

How would you sum up the last 18 months or so?

It’s been a bit of a whirlwind. To get my first win in China was a massive boost to my career. My coach always told me I was going to start off with a big win and he was right. Only the majors are more important than the World Golf Championships. And from there I rode the wave of momentum for a while.

Winning again was almost as big for me. When I won the Travelers event that backed up what I’d already done. I didn’t want to be known as that one-hit wonder guy, so the second win was so important. That has really settled me down and given me more confidence. I play relaxed now and have a sense of belonging on the tour.

Is winning a big change mentally?