Hard Knox: Russell Knox out of Ryder Cup despite strong play
NEW YORK (AP) — A top European Tour official waited patiently as Russell Knox wrapped up his duties from winning a World Golf Championship.
The 31-year-old Scot easily would have qualified for the Ryder Cup if he had been a European Tour member when he won the HSBC Champions last November.
Even without those valuable points, Knox had all the credentials to be at Hazeltine.
Knox was No. 4 when the FedEx Cup playoffs began, one spot ahead of Jordan Spieth.
Clarke used his three picks Tuesday on the Ryder Cup experience of Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, and the raw talent and recent form of Thomas Pieters.
Think back to his victory at the Travelers Championship at the start of the month, when Knox holed a 12-foot par putt on the 18th hole and threw his cap across the green in celebration.
Much of that emotion was that Knox felt certain he had done enough to lock up his spot in the Ryder Cup.
Pieters made his case by shooting 62 in Denmark while playing with Clarke — it was no accident they were paired together — and going on to win the tournament.
[...] in a couple of weeks' time, nobody is going to remember — except for a couple of Scottish people — that I didn't get picked.