Dublin, Ohio ….

Russell Knox admitted he would not have believed you after a horror start to his round in taking a treble bogey “7” he would walk off inside the top-30 with a round of 71 on day one of the Jack Nicklaus hosted Memorial here in Dublin, Ohio.

Scotland’s leading golfer, clearly struggling with a mystery virus he contracted earlier in the week, blocked his first shot way right off the par four 10th hole he was tackling as his first, and with his ball cannoning off a tree and further into the tree line, some 203-yards from the hole.

Knox had no option but to chip out some 50-feet but still in the rough from where he managed to get his third onto the fairway, and some 97-yards from the flag but then after finding the green in five and then two-putted from 12-feet.

But then to his enormous credit, and also fighting tiredness towards the later stages of his round, Knox birdied the next two holes along with collecting birdies at his sixth and eighth holes and while he dropped a shot at nine, he headed to the inward remarkable at level par.

Birdies followed at his 15th and 16th holes before ending with a bogey in a remarkable round of 71 to be sharing 26th place and just seven shots behind the leading duo of his good friend David Lingmerth of Sweden and American Jason Dufner.

“If you had of told me I would shoot one under my start in taking a treble on my first hole, I would not have believed you”, said Knox.

“I just blocked my drive there at the first and the ball hit a tree and kicked 40-yards right so I was in a real mess.

“I hit five bad shot in a row there on one but I was really delighted with myself to knuckle down as I did and be two-under standing on the final tee.

“I got it going after one and it could have been a lot better even with that bogey on my last and I just put that down to his virus I have managed to pick up“.