Perhaps it was the weather Sunday at the Sheshan International Golf Club that was an omen of things to come in the final round of the HSBC Champions.
It was cold, overcast and misting rain — a perfect day in Scotland.
And it was one of Scotland’s sons who came through in a big way and won his first-ever PGA Tour and European Tour title and it was a biggie — a WGC event.
Russell Knox proudly stepped into the winner’s circle with a pair of birdies at the 10th and 11th holes that shot him to the top of the leader board and eventually to the winner’s circle. He added a clutch 15-foot putt for birdie at the 16th that let him cruise home to his breakthrough win.
His 68 got him to 20-under par, two better than the man he shared the 54-hole lead with — Kevin Kisner. Kisner’s 70 was yet another runner-up finish, albeit a lucrative one.
It was an even bigger payoff for Knox, $1.4 million to be exact. “It’s incredible,” exclaimed Knox as he became the first Scot to win a WGC event. “I always kind of thought I was going to win a big one for some reason as my first one. I’ve been close a few times before but this is going to take a long time to sink in.”
Russell’s first step toward the win came on Saturday when he decided not to finish the 18th hole in the dark. He was 15-under par at the time. He came back Sunday morning, birdied the hole to get to 16-under and tie Kisner for the lead.
Fortunately for Russell, no one close to the lead made a run in the cold, damp weather. Danny Willett was the final day’s hard charger and he came home with a marvelous 10-under par 62 but he started the day nine shots off the lead. He finished in a tie for third with Ross Fisher at 17-under and got a little closer to Rory McIlroy’s point lead in the Race To Dubai.
McIlroy finished with 66 on Sunday, tied for 11th at 14-under.
Jordan Spieth, who shot 63 on Saturday, had nothing left in his tank and failed to mount any kind of charge. Two front nine bogeys squashed his chances. His 70 left him in a tie for seventh at 15-under.
