Russell Knox expects upturn in fortunes after putting breakthrough

He’s had a difficult time of it of late but Russell Knox is confident that a breakthrough in his putting can bring around a change in fortunes sooner rather than later – and perhaps as early as this week’s Players Championship.

Speaking to his sister Diane on the latest Secret Golf podcast, the two-time PGA Tour winner revealed how a new putting aid, developed by his caddie, Ramon Bescansa, has resulted in him “holing putts for fun” on the practice green.

The 32-year-old Scot believes that it is only a matter of time before he takes that form into tournaments.

“Ramon has developed this device called the Perfect Putter and it’s an amazing training aid,” said Knox. “I hole everything in practice and when I’m out goofing around in. I just haven’t, for whatever reason, been able to take that to tournaments. But the good thing is that I know it’s in there. I know I’m capable. I’ve just got to let it happen and that comes down to me.

“My game is right where I need it to be. I’ve just got to keep doing what I’ve been doing. Tee to green, I know I’m good enough to win but I’m going to have to make some putts. I’ve worked mega hard on my putting and got nowhere, but I think I’m now right where I need to be.

“I’m working on something that feels a little different but is amazing. Thing is, practise means nothing in golf; you’ve got to be able to take it to the tournament so we’ll find out on Thursday if it’s going to work.”

As well as being one of the biggest events on the PGA Tour schedule, the Players Championship is also a ‘home’ event for Knox, who lives across the road from TPC Sawgrass. He hopes that his extensive local knowledge of the course, allied to home comforts, will help him in his bid to get back to winning ways.

“It’s great to be able to sleep in your own bed and just get on with things normally,” he said. “Sometimes at other tournaments it can be a bit boring. There’s a lot of downtime. So, when you’re at home, you can relax more. You can cook in your own kitchen, which is nice. I mean, we have an amazing job but we eat out for every meal 30 weeks of the year, so when you’re at home at you can make your own breakfast and dinner, it’s nice. I enjoy that side of it.”

He added: “It’s been an okay year. It’s been good. It’s been better than last year. I struggled last year, so from that point of view I’ve improved slightly. But it’s still a little disappointing. I haven’t quite been able to reach the level of play I got to in 2016 but I’m mega close. I feel like I’m right on the doorstep, so I fully expect to finish mega strong this summer and I sure hope it starts this week, but I’m very optimistic about where my game is and where it’s going to go.” 

• To listen to Russell’s interview on the Secret Golf podcast in full, click here.