Russell Knox bolsters Ryder Cup hopes with Travelers Championship win
Monday 8 August 2016 09:42, UK
Russell Knox further enhanced his Ryder Cup credentials after holding his nerve to hole a clutch par putt on the 72nd green to snatch a one-shot victory at the Travelers Championship.
After Jim Furyk had stolen the headlines by becoming the first player in PGA Tour history to card a 58, a battling 68 was enough to earn Knox his second win of the season having made his breakthrough at the WGC-HSBC Champions back in November.
Knox had started the round three shots adrift of 54-hole leader Daniel Berger, who crashed out of contention with a torrid run of four consecutive bogeys after the turn, while veteran Jerry Kelly emerged as the Scot's closest challenger after he closed with a 64 to set the clubhouse target at 13 under.
With most of the world's media focused on Furyk's record-breaking exploits earlier in the day, Knox made a steady start as he followed two solid pars with a 22-foot putt for birdie at the third before giving the shot straight back when he tugged his drive into a fairway bunker at the next.
Knox got back on track with a good four at the long sixth, where playing-partner Berger's problems began as he ran up an ugly six, although the pair traded three pars to keep the American ahead at the turn.
But Berger's game disintegrated on the back nine, finding bunkers and dropping shots at 10, 11 and 12 before compounding the errors by blocking his drive at the 13th into water.
Knox found sand twice at the par-five 13th, but he splashed out of the second to six feet and rolled in the putt for birdie, and he picked up another shot from similar range at the next to open up a three-shot lead over the field.
Kelly reduced the deficit with a birdie at 15, and Knox narrowly failed to match his three before coming close to disaster at the short 16th, where his tee shot came up short and held on the bank at the front of the green when it looked certain to roll back into the lake.
Knox could not take full advantage of his reprieve as he pitched to 10 feet and mis-read the par putt, but he steadied himself with a rock-solid par at 17 before blocking his drive into the gallery to the right of the 18th fairway.
His second landed in the front-right bunker and his escape pulled up 12 feet short of the pin, but he regained his composure to roll the putt into the centre of the cup to join Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott and Jordan Spieth as multiple winners this season.
Kelly, who is eligible to join the PGA Tour Champions in November, made an early move with three birdies over the first five holes and, as Berger slipped after the turn, the veteran vaulted into firm contention when he holed a wedge from 113 yards for an unlikely eagle at the 12th.
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The charismatic American also birdied 13 and 15 either side of what proved to be a costly dropped shot at the 14th, and he was typically gracious in defeat after settling for outright second.
Justin Thomas also made a significant move when he reeled off five consecutive birdies to cap an outward 30, and he picked up four more shots on the home stretch while carding his lone bogey of the day at 14 to close with a superb eight-under 62.
Thomas shared third on 12 under with Patrick Rodgers (68), while Furyk's astonishing round propelled him 65 places up the leaderboard into a tie for fifth with Berger, who had started the day 16 shots ahead of the 46-year-old.
