Opportunity Knox For Russell At The Scottish Open

Opportunity Knox For Russell At The Scottish Open
13:04, 10 Jul 2018

Russell Knox is back. The Scottish golfer's form slumped horribly after he missed out on selection for the European Ryder Cup team in 2016 but Sunday's win at the Irish Open has propelled the 33-year-old back into the spotlight.

Knox holed two sensational 40-foot putts to beat Ryan Fox in a play-off at the Irish Open on Sunday and it was the Scot's first win since he caused an almighty stir by winning the WGC HSBC Champions and Travelers Championship. His previous victories during a purple period of form between 2015 and 2016 had propelled him to the verge of making Europe's Ryder Cup team two years ago but he missed out on an automatic spot and captain Darren Clarke opted not to select him as a wildcard.

The omission appeared to hit Knox hard as he endured something of a hangover during a tough 2017 campaign. Thankfully, he appears to be timing his return to form to perfection ahead of a huge few months of golf as the Scottish Open, The Open Championship and the Ryder Cup are all looming large and coming up quickly on the horizon.

A tie for 12th at the US Open at a notoriously difficult Shinnecock Hills was Knox's best performance at a major and he has followed that up with some timely performances that will have given European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn a timely nudge. Knox tied 2nd in the Open de France at Le Golf National - a course which will be the host venue of the Ryder Cup from 28-30 September - in what was his first appearance on European soil since the British Masters in October.

Knox then won the Irish Open to propel himself to number 49 in the world rankings and he is now in eighth place in the European Ryder Cup rankings. The Scot isn't quite there yet as far as the Ryder Cup is concerned but he can guarantee himself automatic selection with big performances during the coming weeks, starting at Gullane Golf Club in East Lothian on Thursday..

The man from Inverness will bid to become the first homegrown winner of the Scottish Open since Colin Montgomerie at Loch Lomond in 1999 and he has twice finished in the top-ten of this week's European Tour tournament, including a tie for 10th when Gullane last hosted in 2015.

Knox will hope to use course knowledge to his advantage this week before heading to Carnoustie for the Open Championship next Thursday. A big two weeks coming up and the in-form Scot has an opportunity to make an overwhelming - preferably automatic - case for selection for the Ryder Cup. 

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