Russell Knox believes that not being “one of the lads” on the European Tour may have harmed his chances of winning a Ryder Cup place.
The 30-year-old from Inverness was left out of Darren Clarke’s side after the captain named his three wildcards picks for the matches at Hazeltine at the end of the month, despite being ranked 20th in the world and standing as high as sixth on the FedEx Cup standings in the USA.
Knox has also won on the PGA Tour twice this season, the WGC-HSBC event in Shanghai – but before he officially became a member of the European Tour and therefore the qualifying points didn’t count – and the Travelers Championship just three weeks ago.
But he believes basing himself in the States counted against him.
“Playing full time in the US probably hurt me, to be honest,” he said. “I know I joined the European Tour in January but, correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think anyone has got a pick for Europe while playing full time in the US.
“That hurt me for a few reasons. I didn’t allow me to have a relationship with anyone, I’m not close with any of them, Darren, (vice-captain) Paul Lawrie or anyone. Nobody really reached out, nor did I, to get closer or get more friendly.
“It was 100 per cent my responsibility to do that and maybe try to include myself a bit more. It’s not their job to hold my hand and drag me through.”
That said, he did feel he should have made the team on merit, he added.
“When it comes down to it, it’s not about 12 best friends on the team. It’s having the 12 best European players that Darren feels he can win the Ryder Cup with.
“Clearly he didn’t feel I was one of those 12. I have to be ok with that.
“I’m happy with what I’ve done and how I’ve played. I gave everything to make the team and it wasn’t meant to be.”
Knox’s own options around qualification have been called into question in the light of his omission but this is particularly harsh on Inverness man, who quite reasonably thought he had done enough to earn a wildcard.
He joined the tour at the first available opportunity, having not considered himself a possible Ryder Cup candidate until he won the HSBC, an event he got into at the 11th hour and won in unexpected fashion.
He missed the Wyndham Championship in the final week of qualifying points where he might have finished well enough to gain an automatic qualification, but chose instead to stick to his schedule as it was a necessary week off after a long run of events with the four successive weeks of the FedEx Cup still to come even if he made the European Team.
Knox’s decision to pick his friend and former college team-mate Duncan Stewart (360th in the world) rather than the next ranked Scot to partner him in the forthcoming World Cup has also been questioned, but that’s maybe an example of the pettiness within the ranks in Scottish golf.
The rules for the event stipulate that Knox as the highest ranked player can choose whoever he likes as his partner, as he has done. If there was some unofficial protocol amongst the professional Scots that the next ranked man was always picked, Knox doesn’t seem to have been aware of it.
Certainly if that contributed to the distance between Knox and his peers on the European Tour it cannot have helped. Based almost wholly in the US he perhaps shares their attitudes towards the Ryder Cup, where the event is important but not almost the be-all and end-all of most players’ careers like it is in Europe.
Clarke, meanwhile, backed Knox to go out and prove him wrong in the rest of the FedEx Cup.
“I actually told him when I called him the best way he could react was by winning the FedEx Cup title, and I genuinely hope he does it,” said the skipper.
“I had to make a judgement on the evidence as it stood at the time when I needed to name my wild cards. Russell has been in tremendous form over the past year, but I just felt Thomas had shown be a bit more.
“If Russell was to win the FedEx I suppose it might be something the European Tour and future captains might want to look at. But as things stand, I’m happy with the choice I’ve made.”
