RUSSELL KNOX insists he is not about to sulk if he misses out on a Ryder Cup wildcard pick next week.
The Scot returns to competition at the Barclays Championship for the first time since capturing the Travelers Championship in July.
However, the cut-off for automatic European Team selection for those PGA Tour-based Europeans ended at last week’s Wyndham Championship, with Knox finishing one spot outside of the automatic spots to make it into Darren Clarke’s team.
It means Knox will need to be one of three captain's picks if he is to make his Ryder Cup debut later next month at Hazeltine. He says he is prepared to take it on the chin if he misses out.
“It’s important to me but it’s not the end of the world. If he chooses not to pick me, I’m not going to sulk in the corner," he said. “He has every right not to pick me. He has every right to pick me and that’s the great thing with the captain’s picks as he can choose whoever he wants and I’ll be okay with that.
“I feel like I’ve done everything I could do. I played my best. I made the commitment to join the European Tour so I was eligible. I played well. So I guess I’ve made my case and, hopefully, it’s good enough.”
And ahead of this week's opening event of the FedEx Cup Play-Off Series Knox spoke of the encouragement to make the European Team he's received from Rory McIlroy.
For a third year in succession McIlroy has finished the leading European Team automatic qualifier.
"We all had dinner with Darren [Clarke] at the Players Championship back in May, myself and other potential rookies that could make the team and Rory McIlroy was there also, to kind of give us a pep talk," said Knox.
"That talk really inspired me to work harder and make the team.
"Hopefully, I've done enough, and would love to be there."
If Clarke does select Knox it will mean a record-equalling six rookies in the European team, matching the number Colin Montgomerie had under his wing in 2010 at Celtic Manor.
But then Knox has no qualms being called a rookie despite being well inside the top-20 on the world ranking courtesy of two PGA Tour counting victories this year.
"The way I am looking at it is, I won't feel like I'm a pick in a weird kind of way," he said. "Because if my points would have counted for my WGC late last year, I would have made the team comfortably.
"So if I'm lucky enough to get picked, I'll feel like 10 people qualified and Darren picked two people, that's the way I'm going to look at it to take pressure off myself."
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