Russell Knox has become the highest-earning Scottish golfer this year after his earnings surpassed $1m following a top-10 finish in the RBC Heritage Classic at Hilton Head.

Knox recorded a final round 70 for a five-under par tally in windy conditions on the Harbor Town Golf Links course.

The Inverness-born golfer recorded three birdies and dropped just one shot in his first appearance on the South Carolina course, considered to be among the top-six toughest on the PGA Tour schedule. Knox arrived having earned $980,121 (£583,746) this season and a prospective prize purse of $180,000 (£107,205) will take the 26-year-old passed the $1m bracket for the first time in his career. He has earned around $300,000 (£107,165) more than during his 2012 and 2013 PGA Tour years combined.

"It was a little goal of mine to get past the one million dollar mark and I could have done that with a putt in San Antonio," he said. "But then winning the Honda Classic would have also taken care of that, and I guess it's just a reflection of how well I have been playing this year.

"To finish top-10 here in my first appearance is great and in a very tough and a very long week, so I am pleased."

Matt Kuchar of the United States, meanwhile, defeated England's Luke Donald by a stroke to win the event with an 11-under par total. Kurchar set up the victory by holing an 18-yard bunker shot for birdie at the 72nd hole in a round of 64.

For Donald, who led by two strokes heading into day four, it was his third second-place finish in the event after he posted 70 yesterday for a 10-under par total.

The win is also Kuchar's sixth PGA Tour success and improves his hopes of qualifying automatically for the US Ryder Cup team.

The American can see progress in his game, although Lee Westwood was required to be much more patient yesterday on his way to victory in the European Tour's Malaysian Open. A seven-stroke lead would eventually bring an end to a near two-year trophy drought but the Englishman was made to wait as a four-hour weather delay interrupted play.

The former world No.1, who had been leading by a stroke from his compatriot Andy Sullivan, carded a bogey-free final round of four-under par 68 for a four-day total of 18-under. Tied for second on 11-under were Bernd Wiesberger of Austria, South African Louis Oosthuizen and Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts.

Westwood stole a march at the top of the leaderboard once Sullivan found water at the second hole for a triple-bogey 7. Westwood last won at the 2012 Nordea Masters in Sweden.

Play was suspended for over four hours at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club due to the threat of lightning but there was little respite for the chasing pack when play resumed as Westwood went on to sink two more birdies on both the 13th and the final holes.

The 40-year-old - who finished in seventh place at the Masters last week - credited the recent changes he has made to his game for the turnaround in his form. "I started working with a new coach a few weeks ago, Mike Walker, and Billy Foster came back on the bag at the end of last year, so I was going back to what I had done before because it had worked," said Westwood.

"It's started to work already. It's a course that suits my game; it's very tight in certain areas. I played well, I putted well and the short game is good."