Former US Open winner Webb Simpson has two agendas this week.
First and foremost the American is looking to capture Monday’s concluding Deutsche Bank Championship and secondly Simpson is desperate to impress USA Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson into being afforded a Gleneagles ‘wildcard’ pick.
But after posting a third round 68 to move to a share of sixth place on only three shots from the TPC Boston lead, Simpson found time to single out Russell Knox for special praise.
The pair competed together in today’s third round and it was the first occasion for both on the PGA Tour.
Russell Knox rebounds from being three over par afer eight holes to get back to level par for his round on day three of the Deutsche Bank Championship.
And when asked what he thought of Knox’s game Simpson was very complimentary.
And McIlroy clearly squashed any fears of burn out ahead of the Ryder Cup that is now 26 days away as he also set about capturing a second Deutsche Bank Championship title after lifting the silver trophy two years ago.
“Russell’s a great kid and has a great game and after dropping a few there early he showed a lot of maturing in hanging in there nicely and showed a lot of fight in him,” said Simpson.
“I know he hasn’t won out here yet but while it’s hard to win out here, Russell’s only had a handful of starts but then I can’t see why he can’t win soon.”
Knox bounced back superbly on day three when he was three over par after eight hole to then birdie three of his next seven in a round of 71 to remain at five under par.
It has the Inverness-born Knox sharing 21st place and the guarantee of moving onto Denver for his first appearance in this week’s Barclays Championship as well as a first visit to Colorado.
“I had five lip-outs in the first eight holes today and if those putts had of dropped then I could easily be higher up the board,” he said.
“However I was really proud of myself the way I hung in there and after a tough third round last week in New Jersey I felt way better today.
“Hopefully now there is a low one in my bag for tomorrow but was nice was just to get it back to even today.
“And a good low round would be nice to pack in my bags and take with me to Denver. I haven’t been to Colorado before and really looking forward to competing in the Mile High state.
“I actually got on line last night to have a look at the Cherry Hills course and it looks really nice. and the ball will go a mile out there so there’s plenty of positives at the moment.”
