Russell Knox could not be happier breaking out in a huge smile in posting his lowest score in four years in muscling his way to the early lead on day of the Safeway Open and the opening event of the new 2020/21 PGA Tour season.
Knox set about burying the demons of the prior season with a flawless display of a nine-under par 63 on the parkland style Silverado course at Napa Valley, California.
It is Knox’s lowest score since a similar 63 in October 2016 at the CIMB Classic and his first event of the 2015/16 season
The Scot produced a laser-like display off the tee in hitting 11 of 14 fairways on the parkland-style course, and where he’s tee-up on four prior occasions.
Knox capped his Napa round sandwiching a fifth hole eagle ‘3’, and where he holed a 14-footer, in between birdies at four and six.
Knox was clearly on a mission with further birdies at nine and 10 before moving to seven-under thanks to a 30-foot birdie bomb at the 12th hole and then muscling his way to eight-under in two-putting the par-5 16th.
A solid start to the new season. @RooKnox leads the @SafewayOpen by 2 with a 9-under 63. pic.twitter.com/w3FJl6tzRt
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 10, 2020
The double Tour winner then capped his round in two-putting the last for a birdie ‘4’.
He said: “
“I played good today and looking back on it, I knew this week that the par 5s would be big to your ultimate performance so it was great to play them in five-under including the eagle on five.
“It was a day where a lot of good things happened and definitely nice to get off to a good start.
“I’ve struggled first rounds for so long I feel like, so one of my main goals this season was to get off to a better start. I didn’t quite expect this, but nice to shoot a good score.
“Historically, I’ve always been a pretty terrible starter, even in tournaments I’ve done very well in.
“Missing the FedEx Cup Playoffs was extremely disappointing for me. I had a very terrible start from after the quarantine. I mean, I deserved to not make it.
“So, the last couple weeks, I have a new coach now in Mark McCann and I’ve worked as hard as I ever have the last two weeks before this event.
“It’s really nice to see something good happen immediately. I definitely feel like my game is heading in the right direction.”
The 100 plus temperatures over the practice round gave way to a one-hour delay due to fog, and with players looking for pullovers in the first round of 50 events on the new schedule.
Knox made the most of the conditions and making a mockery of his horror end to the 2019/20 season.
The Florida-based Scot had missed four halfway cuts in succession ahead of the March 12th lockdown and then returned mid-June to have the weekend off in another six straight events.
It was not till his last two events Knox finally got to play all four rounds but then ending the year 127th on the FedEx Cup standings.
And now the very affable Knox was in the clubhouse having set the mark on the very first day of the new PGA Tour year, and also having missed the cut in two prior Safeway showings.
