KNOX TO CHANNEL INNER MONTY
WE miss Monty. The swagger, the strops, the fiery streak wider than an Old Course fairway. The actual ability to back up big talk with a genuine challenge for major honours.
If Russell Knox may never boast quite the same bumptious brilliance as Colin Montgomerie, the Scottish graduate of Jacksonville University will certainly give it the old college try here this week. Having spent recent years trying
not to snap every club in the bag, to use his precise words, Knox is only half joking when he talks about throwing a few long irons around the links.
But the 32-year-old isn’t kidding about his ambitions to add a first major title to the two PGA Tour wins already in his collection.
‘I sure hope I’m serious about challenging here,’ said Knox, when confronted with the prevailing wisdom about Scotland having not a single genuine contender at Royal Birkdale this week.
‘I’m capable of it. I mean, I’ve beaten everyone in this field before. There’s no reason why I can’t do it again.
‘For me, it’s all going to be about the first round, just getting off to a good start.
‘It’s been a long time since I shot a good score and sat in the top ten or 20 in the opening round.
‘It would be nice to play my way into contention early. And I have a chance, playing early tomorrow. Then, you never know.’
Knox heads out at 8.03 this morning in the company of Ryder Cup warrior Ian Poulter and Swede Alex Noren.
The highest ranked Scot in the field, sitting at No 47 in the world, Knox has slipped after ending last season at No 18.
Yet the Inverness native insists even a series of missed cuts aren’t pushing him towards panic. Anger, yes. Panic, no.
Confessing it’s a frequent struggle to remain in good humour, Knox said: ‘It’s hard. Every golfer finds that hard. In the past, I’ve had a real temper.
‘Over the past couple of years, I’ve worked to remain more calm. But I’m still mad inside, especially missing cuts. When that happens, you want to snap every club in your bag! But that’s not going to help.
‘I try to stay even. Maybe I need to show more emotion. Maybe I’ll have a good club throw this week.
‘Being calm is not really working, so maybe I’ll be more fiery! There’s no panic. It’s not like I’m losing my card. I’ve still got many years of exemption left, which is nice.
‘I just don’t need to rush to change things. Some people, when they’re struggling a bit, they start swapping equipment, getting a new coach here or there.
‘I just need to stay on the course and keep battling away. Seriously, it’s the difference between hitting one good shot and one bad shot a round. That could make the world of difference. So I’ll stick at it.
‘I found a putter I feel comfortable with, it rolled pretty well last week and feels right this week. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to the battle.’
Knox failed to make it through to the final two rounds of the Scottish Open at Dundonald last weekend, missing out by a single stroke.
In a sport where almost good enough is about as much use as a chocolate putter, it’s hard for the Florida-based Scot to take a great deal of consolation from hitting the ball sweetly 90-percent of the time.
‘It sucks to miss the cut,’ said Knox. ‘Especially in the Scottish Open. I played nicely on the Friday and might have moved up over the weekend, in tough conditions.
‘It was disappointing but that’s the way things have gone recently. It can turn around quickly.
‘Watching the last two days gave me a little extra motivation for this week. Although it didn’t feel too tough missing Saturday, which was pretty horrific because of the weather!
‘No, seriously, you never want to miss the cut. Especially in your home Open.
‘But it meant I could come here early. I played nine holes on Sunday, 18 Monday and 18 on Tuesday.
‘That’s the most I’ve ever practised before any major, although I’ve only been to the range to warm up. I don’t want to practise on the range this week.
‘I’m hitting it fine, just messing up scoring. So I’ve been practising on the course. I’ve prepared really well. I’m happy with the way I feel right now.
‘This is definitely in my top three links courses. It could be the very best. I think everyone would say that, because it’s just unbelievable.
‘And I think it does suit my eye. There’s a lot of hitting into areas, so it takes away the long hitters’ advantage on a lot of holes.
‘You still have to keep it out of the bunkers and it’s really a mid-iron course. That’s been my strength in the past.
‘I drove the ball fairly decent last week and have been pretty good in practice. It would be nice to have a week of striping it down the middle at every hole. It would make a huge difference here.
‘I’m playing better than I’m scoring at the moment. For months now, that’s been the case.
‘Around the green, I’ve been a little untidy and hit the occasional poor shot. I’m very optimistic things are going to improve.
‘There’s nothing wrong with my game. I just need to find a way to score better.’
Knox sounds confident enough. And that last statement, about playing well without scoring, is almost Monty-esque in its logic.
Now, if he can just play like the big man in his pomp. With or without the stormy tantrums.
“Maybe I’ll have a good club throw this week”