Did Russell Knox's Comments Hurt His Ryder Cup Cause?

There wasn't much drama in Captain Darren Clarke's Ryder Cup picks given the advance warning we had received. Here is the short PA story by Phil Casey on what was said and why Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters were picked.

John Huggan goes into greater detail at GolfDigest.com on Clarke's thinking and makes the first mention of Russell Knox--two wins in the last year to Kaymer/Westwood's zero--perhaps making a political mistake in not adding an extra event, even as he's played a full schedule and has many appearances to come.

On the other hand, one week before his trip to Long Island, Knox was asked to play in the Wyndham Championship by Clarke and European vice captain Ian Poulter. This could be interpreted as a strong hint as to Clarke’s intention not to select Knox (or indeed mildly insulting to someone who had just won on the world’s most competitive circuit) as a good performance in North Carolina could have seen the Scot make it to Hazeltine as an automatic qualifier. But Knox declined, citing his high standing in the FedEx Cup and the need to already play four weeks out of five immediately before the Ryder Cup.

But why Westwood and Kaymer, both without wins on either the U.S. or European circuits since 2014, over Knox?

Huggan goes on to explain Clarke's thinking, which makes perfect sense if you buy the experience argument.

However, it was Huggan's interview with Knox last week that was cited by BBC's Tom English in suggesting Knox hurt his chances with "arrogance," which I think is a strong assessment of someone who is just very honest. And, given his play this year, accurate.

English writes of Knox:

He should have gone to Denmark last week, thereby showing his captain that he had a huge desire to make the team, but instead he opted for the cash mountain that was The Barclays. There were Ryder Cup points on offer in Denmark but not in the USA. In choosing the USA, the Scot gave out a bad signal.

That two years of qualifying comes down to such a decision seems silly, but this is the bizarro frat house pledging process of the Ryder Cup.

"I'd be in if they counted. So there is a moral obligation to pick me, I guess. I don't want Darren to pick me because of that, though. His goal is to pick the three best players who did not make the team. And I have a hard time not thinking I am one of those right now."

Moral obligation? This was a player dictating to a captain - and no good ever comes of that. It was a bizarre approach from Knox; it was utterly self-defeating when Pieters was already laying down a huge case for inclusion.

English also notes that Pieters is more dedicated to the European Tour, which is a more traditional and understandable element in the equation. Though a look at Knox's schedule shows he has certainly tried to support the tour he officially joined more recently than Pieters.

Joel Beall ranks the all-time great Ryder Cup snubs and puts Knox first, however I still feel Casey in 2010 was a far greater snub given his world ranking and match play record at the time.

Here's the GolfChannel.com video of Captain Clarke's news conference, where he repeated the line almost too well about what a difficult few days this was in his career.

Update on 2016-08-31 04:15 by Geoff

**Doug Ferguson spoke to Knox, who says his lack of any ties to or friendships with European players did not help his cause.

Clarke hinted at Knox being an outsider when he said Tuesday the Ryder Cup is about more than just playing. ''It's about the team room and the dynamics and everything that's involved in it,'' he said.

Knox was hard-pressed to think of another European who played primarily in America. He said he barely knows Clarke or the assistants. That includes Poulter, even though they've had the same agent for years.

''Ultimately, I had that going against me,'' Knox said. ''I don't even know Paul Lawrie. Sam Torrance seems like a legend - I don't know him. I played with Thomas Bjorn once, and we didn't speak one word. I don't have relationships with anyone. I'm not really close to anyone on the team."