It was almost a magical Monday. Russell Knox’s end-of-year surge nearly carried the Scotsman to his second consecutive victory on the global stage at the PGA Tour’s rain-delayed OHL Classic in Mexico today.
Following his stunning breakthrough triumph in the WGC HSBC Champions event in China a week ago, the 30-year-old from Inverness carried that form on to Latin America but with the title in his grasp, Knox slipped to a bogey on the very last hole and eventually lost out to Graeme McDowell in a three-man play-off.
With last week’s event in the Far East being co-sanctioned between the PGA Tour and the European Tour, Knox was aiming to become the first Scot to win back-to-back PGA Tour titles since Sandy Lyle followed up his success in the Greater Greensboro Open in 1988 with Masters glory the following week.
McDowell and Knox shared the lead at 19-under par, two shots clear of the chasing pack, when play was suspended due to darkness late on Sunday after a lengthy rain delay.
Knox had held the outright lead until Northern Irishman McDowell birdied the 13th, the last hole he played before the suspension, to join him at six-under for the round.
It was nip and tuck on the remaining holes after the resumption and McDowell, playing ahead of Knox, was left cursing a bogey on the 16th as he set the clubhouse target of 18-under after a 66.
Holding a one shot lead playing the last, Knox’s drive on the 18th found the bunker and his approach from the sand left him with a tricky up-and-down for the win. The Scot couldn’t make his par-putt from around 15-feet, however, and he joined McDowell and Jason Bohn in the sudden-death shoot-out.
McDowell made the telling move in the showdown and knocked a superb approach to within a couple of feet. Knox, the last of the trio to hit in to the green, pulled his shot into the light rough wide of the putting surface. He pitched down to within four feet but his chance was gone as McDowell gobbled up his opportunity. It was Knox’s second PGA Tour play-off defeat having previously lost to Russell Henley in the 2014 Honda Classic.
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