Russell Knox thanked his “superstar” wife and his late coach Mike Flemming for lifting him to be the first Scottish winner of a World Golf Championship at the HSBC Champions event in China.
The 30-year-old from Inverness, now based in Florida, won his first tour title in his debut in the elite WGC events with a closing round of 68 for a 20-under total of 268, two shots ahead of Kevin Kisner and four ahead of playing partner Dustin Johnson, who seemed like the favourite going into the final 18 holes in Shanghai’s Sheshan International Golf Club.
Instead, Knox pulled clear to take the winner’s cheque of just over £900,000 from a group including fast-finishing Danny Willett, South Africa’s Branden Grace, former Ryder Cupper Ross Fisher and Kisner, who were all tied at one point in the final round, but he wouldn’t have even been there but for his American wife Andrea.
“I owe my wife everything for this,” said Knox, who didn’t think he would qualify for the tournament until it was confirmed 10 days ago. “When I did found out on Thursday last week in Malaysia, Andrea frantically had to fill out all the paperwork for myself and my caddie.”
Andrea also had to caddie for Russell in the practice round as his caddie’s visa wasn’t cleared in time.
“She was at the Chinese Embassy all day last week, in touch with my agent from IMG getting everything sorted, the paperwork. She’s a superstar and she’s the reason I guess I’m sitting here right now,” he added.
The other reason is Flemming, who did two years ago, and who took Knox to Jacksonville University in Florida as a raw Scot and moulded him into a World Championship winner.
“I thought about him throughout the whole day,” continued an emotional Knox. “When I had to tap-in to win, and my eyes started tearing up.
“I owe him everything. He was my coach for eight years, until he passed away a couple years ago. He’s been my inspiration and he taught me everything I know. It finally paid off.”
Knox grew up in Inverness and played at Nairn Dunbar to a decent level, but only switched from football to golf when he had a top ten finish in the Scottish Amateur Strokeplay at Lundin in 2004, before opting to try his luck in the US college system.
“I joined a recruiting agency when I still lived in Scotland and they got in touch with schools in the US on my behalf,” he said.
“I had a small list to choose from, but I had no idea about them how good or bad they were. So I narrowed it down by, `cold, out, cold, out, Florida? Oh yes!’
“You grow up in Scotland, going to a school where the sun shines was my No. 1 priority. So I came over and met Mike, and he was the most colourful character in the world. He just wowed me over with his crazy stories, and I knew that it was the perfect match for me.”
Playing at a smaller college helped immeasurably, he added.
“Playing as No 1 or No 2 at Jacksonville allowed me to play in every tournament and if you’re playing, you’re improving,” he continued. “It was the best decision I ever made.”
Knox had enough clarity of mind at the head of the leaderboard to opt not to finish the 18th in the gathering gloom on Saturday night and ended up birdieing the hole when he restarted on Sunday morning.
“I was starting to get tight, and it was too dark,” he said. “It meant I spent last night going over and over how to play 18, but the birdie gave me so much momentum and confidence. And I got to have a second breakfast as well!”
In the final round, he chose not to pay attention to the bomber Johnson playing with him. “We’re in different worlds, he was hitting it 50, 60 yards beyond me,” he reasoned. “It was much better to concentrate on Kevin (Kisner) because we’re similar style players.”
Knox has played in Scottish Opens and the Open last year in his homeland as a pro, but is not yet a European Tour member although the lure of the Ryder Cup is now strong.
“To be honest, I haven’t thought about it clearly yet,” he said. “I mean, obviously it’s going to be a goal of mine to make the European Ryder Cup Team, and this obviously springboards me to a place where I can. I mean, obviously yesterday I was nowhere near.
“I have no idea where I stand for making the team or what I need to do. But I look forward to finding out and giving it a run, that’s for sure.”