He’s been living the American dream for a while now but Russell Knox believes that being based on the other side of the Atlantic plunged a star spangled spanner into the works as far his European Ryder Cup ambitions were concerned.
With Darren Clarke, the captain of Team Europe, opting for Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters as his wild card picks for this month’s skirmish with the US at Hazeltine, Knox was left to reflect on what might have been.
There’s always plenty to ponder in this mind-mangling game, of course. Could he have done this, a little bit of that and some of the other? Some will say that two wins on the PGA Tour should be more than enough but, when it comes to the Ryder Cup, it’s never enough.
Knox knows he is something of an outsider. The US is his home, his dad is a Californian and Knox himself has dual nationality. As far as his golf goes, you could tip him upside down and the soles of his feet would probably have the words ‘made in America’ seared into them.
By all accounts, the European Tour is as close knit as a nip-and-tuck final of the Great British Sewing Bee and Knox, quite simply, is not part of this tight, all in it together scene. His decision, for instance, to give his old Highland friend Duncan Stewart, who is ranked No 376th on the global order, a call up to November’s World Cup has gone down like a sack of spanners among the other Scottish touring professionals.
Sour grapes? Perhaps, but Paul Lawrie, a Ryder Cup vice-captain, has publicly questioned Knox’s decision on that front and it’s probably safe to assume that it cropped up during the regular chin-wags between Clarke and his backroom team as they mulled over potential picks. Knox is very much his own man and he concedes that his relative remoteness from the European fellowship didn’t help when it came down to Ryder Cup box-ticking.
The European ethic, which has served the team well in transatlantic tussles down the years, has always been about bonding, unity and camaraderie. “Playing full time in the US probably hurt me to be honest,” said the world No 20. “I know I joined the European Tour but I don’t think anyone has got a pick for Europe while playing full time in the US.
“It hurt me for a few reasons. It didn’t allow me to have a relationship with anyone. I mean I’m not close with any of them. Darren, Paul Lawrie. Nobody really reached out, nor did I, to get closer or become more friendly.
“Don’t take this out of context. It’s not their job to reach out, hold my hand and drag me through. It was 100 per cent my responsibility to do my part and maybe try and include myself a bit more. But it’s not about friends. It’s not about having 12 best friends on the team. It’s having the 12 best European players that Darren feels he can win the Ryder Cup with and clearly he didn’t feel I was one of those 12. I have to be ok with that.”
While Knox will crack on and focus his energies on the FedEx Cup, starting at the Deutsche Bank Championship this week, experienced hand Westwood is keen to prove his critics wrong after securing a captain’s pick and teeing-up a 10th Ryder Cup appearance.
Westwood, who needs just two points to equal the European record points haul held by Nick Faldo, had been struggling to find form at the start of the qualifying campaign but a second place finish in this year’s Masters, and a series of other solid showings in 2016, convinced Clarke that his old friend would be a hugely valuable addition to the team.
“I was determined to show some form and get on the team," said Westwood. "I wasn’t ready to write my game off but any time anybody does, it’s good motivation. You can either take it and be miserable or stick it back down their throats. That’s the attitude you have to have when you go to a Ryder Cup.”
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