Scotland’s Russell Knox and new caddy Will Wilcox created a unique slice of PGA Tour history in teaming at this week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
In July 2013, the Alabama-born Wilcox became the fourth player on the secondary Web.com Tour to shoot a 59 and then 12 days later Knox became the fifth in holing a seven-footer for birdie also for 59 on day two of the 2013 Boise Open.
Knox and Wilcox, and both aged 35, have since become good friends and with Knox arranging for the now retired Tour pro to call the shots this week along the exposed clifftop Port Royal course in Southampton, Bermuda.
However, conditions were more akin to the west coast of Scotland with Knox out in the second group of the day and fighting wind gusts nearing 30-mph in signing for a gutsy one-over par 72.
Scotland’s Russell Knox teams with fellow Web-com 59er Will Wilcox at this week’s Bermuda Championship
Knox had birdied the first and then after eight outward pars he faced the worst of the weather over his inward half managing two birdies but also four bogeys.
In fact, Knox had birdied the par-5 17th when a squall forced play to be halted for some 5-minutes.
Knox said: “I’ve played here the two years they’ve staged the event but it’s easiest the toughest it’s been out there. It was pretty much a case of battening down the hatches and trying to keep the bogeys off the card.
“It was really brutal out there and a real test of patience, so just happy to be off the course and in the clubhouse as it’s not fun out there.
“At the ninth, we were on the front edge of the green there and I’ve never experienced wind that strong, I think, on a golf course.
“I mean, we were down on the ground holding an umbrella. My fingers were like cramping I’m holding on so tight and it was pouring rain as hard as it’s ever rained. It was an interesting day. It rained like three or four times and when it did, it was unplayable when it was raining because the winds picked up. It was definitely an interesting day, one which I’ll never forget”.
A day earlier, winds gusting up to 40mph forced the cancellation of the Pro-Am.
Will Wilcox after recording an ace during 2016 competition and caddying this week for Scotland’s Russell Knox
Knox has showed a fondness for the tournament sharing 16th place in the inaugural event in the 2019/20 season and was tied 11th a year ago.
Willcox lived-up to two aspects of the old caddying adage ‘Turn-up, shut-up and keep-up’ except for ‘shut-up’ and with the duo observed in constant conversation.
Knox said: “I said to Will before we teed off that I wanted him to talk my ear off out there and he did that. I told him I’ll handle the golf part and I just wanted him to keep talking to me.
“And that was important today to stay in the presence as the conditions were very difficult.
“I’d been talking with him for a while about caddying this week so I arrived here in Bermuda with Captain Willy and me ready to rumble.
“Despite the weather out there, it was fun. We talked out there. It was a pretty hard caddie debut for him out there. He was maybe a little lazy, didn’t walk the course, so he was like, “Where’s this hole going?” Fortunately I’ve played here before. Obviously he couldn’t club me all day so it was kind of fun being like, oh, yeah, 7-iron, 120″.
Russell Knox and caddy Willy Wilcox reunited for this week’s Bermuda Championship
And not having caddied for Knox in the past, there were a few essential items Knox needed in his Srixon bag other than balls and tees.
Knox said: “I’d been onto Amazon and ordered all this food that I needed to bring over here so that I had snacks in the bag while out on the course.
“I arranged for things like beef jerky, biltong and these chocolate cookie bars with all this good crap in them for you (smiling), so I ordered a bunch of these snacks and I’m now probably good for a month living on these things as I am playing the next three to four tournaments”.
American Nick Watney with a one-under 70 was the early first round leader in the $6.5m event.
