Russell Knox fell short of his Indy target but is thrilled to become just the second Scot to contest the PGA’s season-ending Tour Championship.
Knox set himself a goal of ending 10-under par in the BMW Championship but came up two shots shy when he found water with his approach shot down the last at Crooked Stick in Indianapolis.
He signed for a one under par 71 to be inside the top-20 at eight under in total and in the FedEx Cup Play-Off Series penultimate event.
But in the bigger picture Knox’s projected eighth place standing cements his spot inside the top-30 to tee-up on September 22nd in Atlanta.
Russell Knox thrilled to be contesting his first Tour Championship.
It will be only the second time since Martin Laird qualified for the season finale six years ago the Scottish flag will be flying in the official last event of the PGA Tour season.
“It always leaves a sour taste in your mouth when you bogey the last but there is so many positives to take away heading to Atlanta,” he said.
“While I’m still a little disappointed, I am also proud of myself to be playing the Tour Championship as it’s a big achievement for any player out here to say you’re among the top-30 players on the world’s biggest golf stage.
“It was a massive goal of mine at the start of the year, so I am thrilled.
“But the story this week was that I played the par 5s horrendously and that just crippled me.
“So we’ve got a week off now which is good before the Tour Championship but there’ll be no time on the couch back home as I will be out every day working hard before heading to Atlanta.
“I haven’t played East Lake before so hopefully it won’t be as wet as here at Crooked Stick as the rain made for an awfully long golf course.”
And Rory McIlroy insists he’ll fully-charged for both the Tour Championship and Ryder Cup despite a flagging Indy effort.
McIlroy was running on the virtual smell of an oil rag posting a no-frills final round 72 for mid-field finish at three-under par.
“It’s been a frustrating week but I’m just tired, really tired and while it’s my third week in a row competing, it’s my sixth week on the road and I am just to get back to sleeping in my own bed for the coming week,” he said.
“Also I feel that my Deutsche Bank win took a lot more out of me than I thought and more so than I’ve felt in the next week after I’ve won in the past.
“So my message is there’s nothing wrong with Rory and nothing that getting the batteries recharged will surely cure.”
And World No. 1 Jason Day assured he will be fit for Atlanta after withdrawing on the ninth tee of the final round when he felt something ‘tweak’ in his back when bending over to tee-up.
The Australian has a history of back issues, withdrawing from the BMW Championship in 2014 with a similar complaint.
He almost withdrew from both The Barclays in 2015 and the World Golf Championships Dell Match Play in 2016 with the same issue before fighting through the pain and actually winning.
