Knox adjusts attitude around his idol
Scot enthralled, then focused in group with Woods
CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — For Russell Knox, the Tiger Effect lasted one day.
As a kid growing up in Scotland, Knox viewed Tiger Woods as one of his sports heroes. He finally got to play with the 14-time major champion this week when they were grouped for the first two rounds of the British Open along with Hideki Matsuyama.
Knox was nervous about it Thursday, but that faded by Friday’s round.
“I didn’t feel anything like that today,” Knox said. “The conditions were so hard. Yeah, I was over it: ‘Tiger? Who’s that?’ ”
Both had solid but unspectacular rounds. Knox shot 73-73 to finish at 4 over par, missing the cut by one. Woods shot two even-par rounds of 71. Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner shared the lead at 6-under 136.
“You’re only going to ever get to play the first time with him once, and that was mine,” Knox said. “We chatted away. He was nice to me. I was nice to him, I think. So I enjoyed my time out there.
“I enjoyed watching him play. He’s Tiger Woods for a reason. He hit some incredible shots and just picked his way around the course well.”
Knox said it was important for him to get the butterflies out of the way.
Then, with a laugh, he said: “Next time I’ll bury him.”
Fore! Woods’ tee shot on the second hole landed in the right rough, and he had the choice of punching out into the fairway or trying to hit over the gallery in front of him and pressed against the ropes.
The crowd ignored the warnings of marshals to stand back, thinking surely one of the world’s best golfers could clear them, even though Woods was hitting out of the tall grass from an uneven lie.
In a gasp-worthy moment, Woods ripped a shot that sailed low and into the crowd from point-blank range. Clearly, some people were hit, as the ball dribbled forward with far less velocity, but there were no apparent serious injuries.
“I kept moving them back,” Woods said. “I moved them back about 40 yards. I was playing for the grass to wrap the shaft around there and hit it left, and I was just trying to hold the face open as much as I possibly could. It grabbed the shaft and smothered it.
“I was very, very fortunate that it got far enough down there where I had a full wedge into the green.”
Those fans in the line of fire were even more fortunate.
Take a bow: Sandy Lyle has a green jacket and his name on the claret jug. He might have one other thing in common with Jack Nicklaus — a birdie on what likely was his final hole in the British Open.
This is the final year of eligibility for Lyle, 60, who played in his first British Open in 1974 as a 16-yearold amateur. The only way back is to win the Senior British Open, so the Scot
isn’t giving up on it just yet.
Still, there was a lump in his throat walking up the 18th at Carnoustie. And then he holed the putt for birdie, much like Nicklaus when he retired from major championship golf at St. Andrews in 2005.
“I was very light-footed, I
know that,” said Lyle, who shot 75-76 to miss the cut by six. “I was on cloud nine walking down the 18th. It’s quite a spectacular view to come down there. To make birdie was extra special.”