Russell Knox Offers A Textbook Study In Handling A Nine
/Doug Ferguson on Russell Knox's Saturday 9 and the affable way in which Knox handled the catastrophic 17th hole play.
The good news? He holed an 8-foot putt to make a 9.
''I had no idea what I was going to make,'' Knox said. ''I ended up making an awesome putt for 9. After I was walking through the tunnel (toward the 18th tee) I was like, 'Whoa, that was to avoid a 10.'''
The Scotsman's Tweets were fun:
My caddy @bwhitts12. I tried to copy him today on #17. Almost hit the wrong island. Bummer. What a day #THEPLAYERS pic.twitter.com/clSe4L3Pw0
— Russell Knox (@rooknox) May 15, 2016
SHANK you very much for all the nice messages. Looking forward to getting my revenge today!!! #THEPLAYERS pic.twitter.com/5IOMUhVURr
— Russell Knox (@rooknox) May 15, 2016
Here was the massacre, followed below by the brief scare Sunday:
Watch the initial reaction Sunday...
This is how most people react when they find dry land on No. 17. #QuickHits https://t.co/NEKEw9MVXG
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 15, 2016
**Cameron Morfit spoke to Knox after the round and Saturday's trauma spilled into his thinking on Sunday more than we realized.
“I’ve never been so nervous over a shot in my whole life,” he said.
Tour pros don’t spook easily, but Knox had spooked at the hole Saturday, rinsing three balls—including a shank—while making a 9. As he returned to the scene of the accident Sunday the outcome meant nothing as it related to the trophy, but everything to him. “It was a career-defining moment for me,” said Knox, a 30-year-old Scotsman who lives in Jacksonville. “If I couldn't get off the tee there today, I was in big trouble.”
