Scotland’s Russell Knox clipped the claws of the ‘Bear Trap’ with two birdies on route to a level par 70 on day one of the Honda Classic in Florida.
Knox had put a ball in the water in taking a double bogey at the 14th to fall to two over par on the PGA National course at Palm Beach Gardens.
However the Scot then holed a 14-foot birdie par at 15, and the first of the three holes making up the famed ‘Bear Trap’ and then landed his tee shot to just four feet for birdie at 17.
The young girl happy to be volunteering at this year’s Honda Classic.
It left Knox, who was then asked to attend a random drugs test after his round, eventually ending the day five shots behind the leading duo of Spain’s Sergio Garcia and American Michael Thompson who posted five under par 67s in the $US 6.1m event.
Knox is no stranger to playing well at PGA National having lost out two years ago in a four-man play-off for the title.
And having honed his game in Inverness he again displayed a delight in dealing with the bright but very windy conditions.
“I am delighted to get back to level as I had two sloppy bogeys on the front nine, including a three-putt from nowhere, and then I made a bad swing on 14 to take double,” he said.
“So other than that I played really well and I felt I played good enough, and in these tough conditions, to be rewarded with level par.
“And while it was tough out there today, and up there with some of the toughest rounds I’ve played here, I love it when it’s like this as you can use the wind to hold up the ball.
“But then you can’t switch off because if you do, you make bogey and day’s like today make me stay more in the moment.”
