East Lake, Atlanta, GA … Russell Knox produced the lowest round was first in putting in taking Route 66 on day two of the season-ending Tour Championship.
Knox bounced back superbly from a horror first round with five birdies in a four under par 66 to move inside the clubhouse top-10 at one under par.
And the proud Scot did so with just 25 putts for a second straight round in the extremely hot and humid conditions at East Lake in suburban Atlanta.
And after hitting just a third of the 18 greens in regulation on day one, Knox managed to double that figure finding a dozen greens and capping his round with three birdies in four holes from the 11th.
Scotland’s Russell Knox finds himself in demand shooting the lowest round of the day in the second round of the Tour Championship. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)
“After being more in the fairway today, my iron-play was really dialled-in as I hit a lot of sloppy eight and 9-iron shots so a lot happier walking off today and very pleased,” said Knox.
“To be honest, I had no idea what to expect after that poor first round and I was really just hoping to get a little bit of momentum going and what I’ve done has put myself back in the mix and that’s super.
“But any golfer knows, it is such a small line between finding a fairway or missing it or seeing a putt drop compared to them lipping-out which was what was happening on day one.
“I am just trying to love life playing golf and it proved a very lovely drive today taking route 66”.
Russell Knox continues to sport strapping on his worrying left wrist. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)
And Knox insisted his cause of winning first the Tour Championship and hopefully the FedEx Cup will not be helped or hindered by the withdrawal of World No. 1 Jason Day.#
Day’s injury-ridden season sadly came to an end, and for a second event running after just eight holes, when he complained of lower back pain in heatwave conditions on the East Lake course.
The Aussie was No. 3 on the FedEx Cup standings and like Knox, needing to win the PGA Tour’s final event if Day was also to be handed the £7.7m bonus pay-out.
“It’s disappointing for Jason and a shame but then it’s all about how I play because if I win this tournament and don’t win the FedEx Cup then I will still be extremely happy,” said the Scot.
But then FedEx Cup front-running Dustin Johnson shows no signs of letting up and adding a 67 to end the day at seven under par and one shot clear of compatriot, Kevin Chappell (68).
The first two round pairing of Rory McIlroy an Paul Casey remained tied with each shooting a 70 to be sharing sixth place on two under par.
But while Casey entertained a growing fan base of autograph hunters, McIlroy was headed to the East Lake practice range.
“I do feel an evening on range here is in order as I do need to sort it out a little, and hopefully not make as many mistakes out there tomorrow,”said McIlroy.
“My putting was quite good even though I missed a couple but I held some nice ones, too.
“I was just not comfortable with my swing all day and even in the warm-up on the range this morning it didn’t feel that comfortable so I do need to go now and work on my driving.”
