I’M NOT HERE TO MAKE PALS
Knox is adamant he can make Ryder Cup team without sucking up to captain Bjorn at Scots Open
RUSSELL KNOX insists he won’t suck up to Thomas Bjorn just to improve his chances of getting on the Ryder Cup team next year.
The American-based Scot is delighted to be back on home soil this week but this is not his home tour.
Never did he feel that more than last September when he was controversially overlooked for a wild card pick by European captain Darren Clarke after falling just short of automatically qualifying for his team.
Back then disappointed Knox wondered if his case for a card was undermined by the fact he didn’t have a relationship with Clarke or any of the vice captains who had been running the rule over potential team members for months.
He reckoned that in hindsight he should’ve used weeks like this when he was back in Europe to reach out and include himself more to build friendships.
But yesterday, as Knox geared up for the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, he was adamant he won’t be making a point of sitting down with current captain Bjorn to force a friendship.
Knox said: “I’m not here to sit and pal around with people. It’s not really my personality to do that.
“Just being around helps. I mean seeing Thomas Bjorn and the other guys who are going to be involved in the team, and just being around them more and getting to play with people. Bumping into them wherever and just having a conversation.
“But I don’t think it needs to be forced because then it’s not natural.
“Over time it’s just being around and getting a chat with Thomas here or there. I’m sure I’ll play with him eventually.
“The Ryder Cup is obviously a huge goal but it’s all up to me. You don’t have to be best friends with everyone to make the team. If you can play well and earn your way, that’s everyone’s goal.”
Aside from lacking a relationship with Europe’s Ryder Cup hierarchy, critics claimed Knox scuppered his case for a pick when he ignored advice from captain Clarke and assistant Ian Poulter to play in
LEE WESTWOOD has made a shock split from long-time manager Andrew “Chubby” Chandler.
The Ryder Cup star’s association with Chandler’s International Sports Management group stretches back over 27 years.
But last night sources confirmed the split with no explanation given.
the final counting event, the Wyndham Championship.
But still the Scot has no regrets as he looks back on his frustrating end to an otherwise stellar 2016 season.
He said: “There were no mistakes. I got asked to play but I was happy with my decision.
“I felt I’d played well enough to make the team because the qualifying points from my big win in China didn’t count.
“Hopefully I’ll keep playing well and have a reason to play more in Europe to make the team. But if I’m anywhere close to what I was last year, I’ll do everything possible to make the team.”
For now the target is just getting back to contending at the top of leaderboards, as Knox did so often last season.
The past five months have been a frustrating tale of missed cuts and results he reckons makes his game look in worse shape than it actually is.
He said: “It’s not nearly as bad as a lot of people think it is. Golf is a crazy game. You’re one good swing away compared to one bad swing away from being completely different.
“In France I played well. I made a couple bad swings at the wrong time that cost me shots and wasn’t able to capitalise on birdie chances on Friday.
“I don’t feel like my game is any worse than it was last year when I was playing well. It’s just a confidence thing.”
Knox’s fellow PGA Tour-based Scot Martin Laird is at the other end of the scale in terms of confidence as he arrived at Dundonald feeling his game is steadily improving since a good show at the US Open at Erin Hills.
If he continues his trend back towards the world’s top 50, where he was six years ago, he’ll come into the equation for a Ryder Cup debut too.
But Laird claims he won’t be chasing it by trying to spread his schedule more thinly to span both continents, as he values his family’s happiness over any Ryder Cup appearance.
Laird said: “It’s always something you’d love to be a part of but I’m not making decisions or schedule changes based on that.
“I don’t want to be charging around the world away from the kids with no guarantee of getting in the team. I’m just going to worry about getting my game back to where I know it can be.
“I’ve been playing nicely but felt like the last couple of months I wasn’t getting the scores out of my play.
“I went into the Travelers Championship and felt I was playing the best I ever have done. I couldn’t miss a shot but I missed the cut!
“I thought, ‘What is going on?’ I had a good long chat with my coach and my caddy and we made a few little adjustments on the course management side. It was stupid stuff I was doing.”
I’m not here to sit and pal around with people. It’s not my personality to do that RUSSELL KNOX