Knox strikes gold in China

Post by Sports Writer, Derek Clements

SCOTLAND has a new golfing hero today. And you can bet your bottom dollar that Darren Clarke, captain of the European Ryder Cup team, will be hoping that Russell Knox is a member of his team when the defence of the famous old trophy takes place on American soil next year.

Few people would have given the 30-year-old much chance of securing the title at the WGC HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai, but Knox showed that he has some very special qualities as he held on to win by two shots from a world-class field that included Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy.

With the third round being completed in near-darkness on Saturday, Knox chose not to play the 18th hole and returned to the course on his own to play the final hole - he birdied it to share the lead with American Kevin Kisner, and quickly went in front on his own when Kisner struggled in the early part of the final round.

Knox is renowned as a straight hitter, but not somebody who hits the ball terribly far, and he consistently found himself behind playing partners Kisner and, more especially, Johnson. That might bother some players, but not Knox. Instead, he took advantage of hitting his approach shots first by striking a succession of brilliant iron shots to put the pressure on Kisner and Johnson.

Highlights from the final round of the HSBC Champions Tournament 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_A2Mn-OPto

Knox birdied two of the first three holes to take the lead on his own and he never looked like being caught. He shot a final round of 68 to finish on 20 under par and secure a $1.5m payday and a place in the top 30 in the world rankings - not a bad return for a man who only got into the field as a seventh alternate. His place in the field was confirmed so late that he arrived in Shanghai with only time for one practice round, with his wife carrying his clubs.

For Kisner, it represents a fourth runner-up finish in 2015. He plays the game in a manner that is reminiscent of Jason Dufner. In other words, it is difficult to imagine that he is ever enjoying himself on the course. He never smiles and seldom shows any emotion whatsoever. Kisner is a beautiful ball striker and his time will surely come. The American birdied the final hole to secure second place on his own, ahead of English golfers Ross Fisher and Danny Willett, who ended his week with a remarkable round of 62. His tied third finish means that he has closed the gap on Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai, and the Northern Irishman has chosen to give the BMW Masters a miss, so could find himself trailing Willett when he returns for the season-ending Dubai World Championship.

Nobody in the field played better golf from tee to green than McIlroy, but his woes on the greens continue. Over the course of 72 holes he missed numerous short putts, almost all of which were pushed to the right of the hole. It was ironic that he should finish his tournament by holing a huge birdie putt on the 18th for a 66 that gave him a share of 11th place at 14 under par.

A star may also have been born in Shanghai. Li Hao-tong is a 20-year-old from Chine who began the day in contention, only to make a shocking start to his round. He dropped a shot at the opening hole and then put a ball in the water at the second on his way to a double-bogey seven. With all of China cheering him on, it would have been all too easy for Li to have folded but his level-par round of 72 included five birdies and he eventually finished tied for seventh alongside Jordan Spieth, who reclaimed the No1 spot in the world rankings from Jason Day. Matthew Fitzpatrick, the brilliant young Englishman, finished on the same mark. Li will take some consolation from producing the best ever performance by a Chinese golfer in a WGC event.

But the day and the tournament belonged to Knox. Afterwards, he said: "It feels just incredible. I always hoped it [a win] was going to happen but you're just never sure. There’s just so many unbelievable players on tours all around the world and to win on this stage is a dream come true. I still can’t quite believe it. Deep down in my bones I felt I was capable of winning a big one. I thought it was going to be maybe another year, but I’m glad it happened now.”

Willett was also a happy man. “It’s very special. It’s special shooting 62 at home with the lads, but in a World Golf Championship on a Sunday when it means something a bit more, obviously it’s that little bit more special.

“It could be big for me in the Race to Dubai, especially with Rory not playing next week, we could climb a few more points on him and give us a nice buzz going into the next week into Dubai.”

Li chose to draw on the positives of what could turn out to be a life-changing week for him. "The first five holes gave me a hard time, but I was lucky to make a lot of birdies on the back nine and get up-and-down a lot," he said. "I think today is my most up-and-down round of the year. It is incredible for me this week. This for me is very, very big.”

And McIlroy admitted that his putting had cost him any chance of another victory. “I feel like I played well enough to win this week. I just didn't hole enough putts and that's sort of been the story of my season, well, at least, for the last couple of months anyway," he said. "But it's getting better. I feel like every tournament I play, I'm getting a little bit better and hopefully I can continue that trend and go into Dubai and play well again."

Challenge Tour

Ricardo Gouveia capped a wonderful season with victory in the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, winning the Road to Oman rankings with the highest total earnings for a season in European Challenge Tour history.

Gouveia, a 24-year-old from Portugal, had appeared to have thrown away his hopes of winning when he struggled in windy conditions during the third round, but he put that all behind him with a final round of 65, the lowest score of the week, at Muscat's Almouj Golf. Incredibly, he has already enjoyed 11 top 10 finishes in 17 starts and has secured his European Tour card before a shot was struck.

He rolled in five straight birdies on the back nine as he set a clubhouse target of 13 under par that could not be matched, Dane Joachim B Hansen finishing one shot further back having led for the first three rounds.

“I have no words,” said Gouveia, who finished the season with prize money of more than €250,000 “I got my rhythm back in the middle of the round and my putter was really hot on the back nine, I holed a lot of good putts and obviously the most important one on 18 to probably secure the win. It was an amazing afternoon, a great week and I just have no words to describe this season.

“It was almost like being on auto-pilot today. I was feeling a little nervous but not too much because I was just in that zone and I just started playing really well and making birdies. I’m just really happy."

The 15 players who have secured their European Tour cards are:

Ricardo Gouveia (Por), Sebastian Gros (Fra), Borja Virto Astudillo(Spa), Nacho Elvia, Joachim B Hansen (Den), Bjorn Akesson (Swe), Gary Boyd (Eng), Rhys Davies (Wal), Thomas Linard (Fra), Jens Fahrbring (Swe),Jeff Winther (Den), Andrew MacArthur (Sco), Callum, Shinkwin (Eng), Brandon Stone (SA) and Jamie McLeary (Sco)