Scotland is the home of golf, but for many years hasn’t been the home of any truly dominant players in worldwide circles. It has been the home of mostly “good” players, journeymen really. This might seem a little harsh as I refer to names such as Alastair Forsyth, Peter Whiteford, or David Drysdale, but mention these in the United States and you’ll be met with a vacant gaze, and that would even be with dedicated followers of the PGA Tour.
Not since Sandy Lyle and Colin Montgomerie have Scotland had players who could be considered a real force in the world arena. Lyle captured The Claret Jug back in 1985 at Sandwich and followed that up with a win at The Masters in 1988. In total he had 18 wins on the European Tour and 6 PGA Tour victories, a record most professionals would bite your hand off for. Montgomerie has more wins on the European Tour (thirty-one in total), but hasn’t won a major, although he has finished in second place on five occasions and has a total of ten Top-10s. Although Colin would likely swap a few European Tour Order of Merit titles for Lyle’s Open Championship and Masters victories, he does hold the record of winning the money order on seven straight occasions (eight in total); an unbelievable feat that in all likelihood will never be emulated.
Current world golf rankings show Scotland only having one player in the Top 100 (Martin Laird 25th). Ireland (both Northern and the Republic), a place of relatively comparable population size to Scotland, have four players in the Top-75 (McIlory, McDowell, Clarke, Harrington), with two in the Top-15 (McIlroy 5th and McDowell 13th), as well as having captured six of the last eighteen major championships. In the previous ten years Scotland has a big fat donut. In fact their last major win was back in 1999 at Carnoustie when Paul Lawrie held aloft The Open Championship trophy, sneaking in the backdoor after Jean Van de Velde’s brief moment of insanity and arguably the biggest mental disaster in golfing history; without doubt more memorable than the actual winner.
As already stated, Martin Laird is 25th in the world rankings, which is no small achievement. He has the potential to be a Top-10 player, having two PGA Tour wins; his last being this year in the Arnold Palmer Invitational back in March against a class field. However, Martin’s major record is mediocre at best. He is only twenty-eight, in his prime, with plenty of time and talent to become a major championship winner. I route for him every time he tees it up, but I believe in my heart that Scotland’s savior will be Russell Knox. Russell who? Many of you will be scratching your head right now, even avid fans on both sides of The Pond.
Russell Knox – from Inverness – is a rookie on the Nationwide Tour, having played college golf for Jacksonville University, Florida. He earned his way onto that tour the hard way, but boy, has he made the most of it. He played the Hooters Tour from 2008 to 2010, and it took successful Monday qualifying back in April in order to gain entry to the Nationwide Fresh Express Classic event at the TPC Stonebrae course located in the beautiful San Francisco East Bay area. In the tournament itself, Knox exceeded all expectations, claiming a runner-up finish behind Sweden’s Daniel Chopra in the weather curtailed event, giving him enough monetary credit to secure his card for the remainder of the 2011 season. On July 17th, Russell notched his first victory on the Nationwide Tour, sealing a dominant three stroke win at the Chiquita Classic in Maineville, Ohio. As of August 21st, Knox sits in 6th place on the order of merit with earnings of $218,318, and is virtually assured of gaining his 2012 PGA Tour card (the top-25 on the Nationwide money list obtain PGA Tour membership).
Knox, 26, isn’t a huge ball hitter, but he’s no slouch either, averaging just over 290 yards off the tee. His real strength lies in the precision department. His statistics on the Nationwide Tour are as follows: 3rd in driving accuracy (hitting 76.72% of fairways), and 1st in greens in regulation with a superb rate of 77.26%. It’s quite the combination, and as he matures and grows in comfort level in the company of the “big boys” next year, he’s only going to get better. His world ranking sits at 272nd. That’s not overly impressive, but considering he’s moved up approximately seven hundred spots in the last 12 months it puts it more into perspective. It’s only going to get better as he competes in PGA Tour events where the world ranking points on offer are significantly higher.
Between Knox and Laird I believe Scottish golfing success will be making a revival. Perhaps even Richie Ramsay can deliver on the potential he flashed us after becoming the first British golfer in almost a century to win the United States Amateur Championship in 2006. What do Knox, Laird, and Ramsay have in common? They all played college golf in the United States where competition, coaching, and general practice facilities are light-years ahead of what’s available to up-and-coming Scottish juniors. It’s no coincidence, but that’s a story for another day.
Watch out for Russell Knox in 2012. He might not be a household name at the moment, but he will be then. World ranking prediction: Top-100 player by end of 2012, Top-50 in 2013, and Top-10 by the finish of 2014. Folks, he’s the complete package and will do Scotland proud for many years to come.
