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FirstPointUSA Golf Scholar - Russell Knox
2 min read
Russell Knox was no stranger to the world of American golf before leaving his hometown of Inverness to attend Jacksonville University in northern Florida. His father, Mike, is a keen amateur golfer, born and raised in San Diego. However, it wasn’t until he joined the school in 2003 that he really began to progress as a player, holding the college record for career scoring average. Throughout his four seasons at the school, Knox maintained an incredible focus and determination on improving his game, saying that he “knew for certain that he had the game for the PGA tour.”
After turning professional in 2007, he went on to pick up two victories across two years on the NGA Hooters Tour. He then joined the Nationwide Tour in 2011, where his eventual 12th place finish was enough to gain him a full PGA Tour card. After a series of near misses – including the 2012 Sony Open in Hawaii where he missed the cut by a single stroke – he finally came into his own during the 2014 season, coming second to Russell Henley in the Honda Classic in March. He followed this up with an appearance at the 2015 Scottish Open, where he finished in a tie for 10th place.
However, it wouldn’t be until November 2015 when Knox would clinch his first PGA Tour win at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai. He beat out greats such as Dustin Johnson, Danny Willett, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth to become the first Scottish golfer ever to win a World Golf Championship – a feat that confirmed his status as a rising star of the golfing world, and ensured that he would be heading to the US Masters come April 2016.
Knox then followed up his amazing victory with a second place finish at the RBC Heritage, held in South Carolina, and a fantastic performance at the 2016 Scottish Open, which saw him eventually take 10th place. Currently rated 27th in the world rankings, Knox recently won the 2016 PGA Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands picking up a nice $1,188,000 for his efforts.
