Russell Knox is hoping his victory in the Travelers Championship on Sunday will be enough to earn a spot in Darren Clarke’s 2016 European Ryder Cup team.
Scotland’s number one needed a big result to improve his position in the World and European Points Lists’ and he duly delivered with a stunning win at TPC River Highlands.
The 31-year-old holed a brilliant 12-foot putt on the last hole to make par and finish the tournament on -14, one ahead of American Jerry Kelly.
He now joins Australian’s Jason Day and Adam Scott and the American pair Justin Dohnson and Jordan Spieth as the only multiple winners on the US circuit this season.
Knox, who has now moved to world number 18, has climbed to 10th on the World Points List and is just marginally behind Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick, who holds the final automatic Ryder Cup spot.
The Inverness-born star is delighted to have picked up the win and he hopes this will have caught the eye of Clarke, who has some difficult decisions to make for Hazeltine.
“I thought about it on the last tee, to be honest,” Knox said. “I knew by winning this tournament, it’s put Darren Clarke in a very difficult position not to pick me. I think.
But it’s his decision. “If I don’t make the team, I can’t think I’m worthy of a pick.
He can pick whoever he wants, and that’s the luxury of it. If I make the top nine, then I deserve to be on the team.
If I’m No 10, he can quite happily pass on me, and that’s just the way it is.”
Knox will be hoping to earn an automatic spot on the team alongside the likes of Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who is 6.00 favourite to win Olympic gold in Rio, and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy.
Englishman Justin Rose, another that will be competing for Europe, is also set to feature in Brazil and he is priced at 12.00 to pick up the gold medal.
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