Top-Scot Russell Knox was upbeat despite bogeying his closing two holes in a score of 68 on day two of the Players Championship.
Knox was tied for the lead at eight-under par standing on the famed island-green 17th when he comfortably found the green in regulation with an 8-iron but then horribly took three-putts from some 32-feet for a then first bogey of his round.
The local Jacksonville resident, who went into day two sharing 35th place after an opening 70, has earlier picked-up for birdies over the outward nine of the TPC Sawgrass to race to six-under for his round.
Knox then holed a 15-footer for birdie at the 10th and moved into a share of the lead in the whopping $12.5m event in getting up-and-down from a greenside bunker at the par-5 16th.
Despite the bogey on 17th, and a hole he had birdied a day earlier, Knox looked upbeat in heading the last.
Though his demeanour changed when he leaked his drive way right into the trees and managing to advance his second around 100-yards ahead of finding the green in three before two-putting from nine feet for a bogey.
Knox said: “I am not going to let what happened there at the last two holes spoil my outlook.
“I’ve obviously done this a long time now, and I’ve finished horribly in the past and come back well.
“I’ve got to find a way obviously to focus on all the good stuff today, though, and not the ending and really, there was only really one bad shot and a missed putt so it really was not all that bad.
“If you would have said to me teeing-off I would shoot 4-under, I probably would have said yes. I mean, yes, it was good. I mean, it was really good at times today, which is nice.
“But I mean, I did actually get lucky a few times, though and I also hit some bad tee shots I got away with.
“Golf always pays you back, and maybe I deserved that finish.”
On a positive note, the switch of the event from May to March has pleased the Knox given he had missed the cut the past two years.
Knox arrived at what is virtually his ‘local’ course currently ranked No. 64 in the world but needing to be inside the top-50 as at March 31st to be assured of heading to the Masters at Augusta National.
And helping in that goal this week is Knox getting to stay a home in his palatial abode just a 15-mintue drive north of the course.
He said: “I’ve lived in the Jacksonville area now for a good 14, 15 years, went to school here at Jacksonville University, have a bunch of friends and family out from the area.
“So, this week does mean a lot to me as it does for everyone competing but getting to sleep in your own bed and to have a bunch of people out following you and supporting you is super nice.
“Though at the same time, it doesn’t add any pressure. I mean, I love that feeling. But yeah, getting to go home now.”
