Knox Looking To Turn His ‘B Minus’ Season Into An ‘A’ Year.

5 years ago by Comments Off on Knox Looking To Turn His ‘B Minus’ Season Into An ‘A’ Year.

Dubai, UAE …

Lone Scot Russell Knox is on mission teeing-up in a maiden DP World Tour Championship looking to turn a ‘B-minus’ year into an ‘A’ season.

Knox and his wife, Andrea visited sprawling Dubai just once before and that was early in 2016 for a day visit while he was contesting the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in nearby Abu Dhabi.

The reigning Irish Open winner is among just 60 players who’ll tee-up this week on the Earth Course as the European Tour looks to crown either Open Champion, Francesco Molinari or his close friend, Tommy Fleetwood as European No. 1.

Knox will tee-up lying 14th on the Race to Dubai and while he cannot feature in the Race to Dubai outcome he could win the DP World Tour Championship.

“It’s great to be here in Dubai and this is clearly a special week on the European Tour and it has that big event feel,” said Knox.

“It not quite like the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour but then qualifying for either is in itself a reward for a great season.

“It’s nice to be here because obviously you have done something well in the year to be here.

“It’s a limited field, no-cut event with guaranteed prize-money so you know can just go out and play.

“But then that is also a difference here this week compared to the PGA Tour as there is only Francesco and Tommy in with the chance of becoming No. 1 in Europe whereas in the U.S. there is more scenarios depending on how people play.

“But in saying that the player who wins the Race to Dubai fully deserves to be European No. 1 whereas in the U.S. you can get really hot at the end of the Play-Offs and win.

Russell Knox and coach/caddy Roman on the range at the DP World Tour Championship (Photo – @tourmiss)

“So, while my Race to Dubai race may be over I would love to win the tournament as it’s a massive tournament and it would be right up there in winning a WGC that I’ve managed to do.”

The 33-year old Knox earlier this year capped an 11th year as a pro gallantly finishing runner-up in the French Open and then went to Ireland a week later for Rory McIlroy to hand him the gleaming Irish Open trophy.

In the bigger Majors picture, Knox did not contest the Masters while he finished T12th at the U.S. Open he missed the cut at The Open and the PGA.

“It’s been a strange year because if you take out that summer of finishing second in France and first in Ireland it has been like a C-plus or a B-minus year,” he said.

“I have played a lot of decent golf but not like super, exotic golf as I haven’t quite felt as maybe as good as I needed to.

“It’s been a good year and I need to be good to myself and not get down on things such as not finishing the FedEx Cup the way I would have wanted to.

“At the same time, there was lots of good stuff and let’s be honest as a win at the start of the year is worth everything.

“Now having won one event a year in three of the last four years, and if someone had of said to me at the start of my career that you are going to win one tournament a year for the next 10 years, I would have taken that.

“But I would not be happy with that as I am at the stage of my career where I have done a lot of good and I now on the fence of taking my game to the next level.

“Either I stay the same or I get worse or I get much better, so now it’s up to me to get myself back in the top-50 and start banking on the victory door at the Majors.

“So, I just have to find a way to elevate my game a little bit but in saying that, it does not mean re-inventing the wheel.

“A win this week would turn that B-minus into an A and that would be very rewarding.”

Knox got his first look at the Greg Norman designed course on Tuesday playing alongside former R & A CEO, Peter Dawson in the Pro-Am and wound-up his preparations in the £6.15m event yesterday (WED) playing a nine-hole practice round.

“The golf course is in great condition with big beautiful bunkers and huge greens, so it will reward good driving and good iron play if you get the ball into the right areas,” he said.

“I think I will enjoy Metropolitan better next week in Australia but for this week, this will be the best course I will be playing this week.”

Tee time – 

Russell Knox – 7.40am UK time.



Comments are closed.