AFTER being left deflated at sea level in Florida, Russell Knox heads to this week’s inaugural WGC-Mexico Championship buoyed at the thought of teeing-up a mile-and-a-half high in Mexico City.
Just minutes before being confirmed on Friday night as Scottish Golfer of the Year at a black-tie dinner in Edinburgh, Knox was downbeat after being bundled out of the Honda Classic with scores of 73 and 72.
“I just made too many bogeys from the middle of the fairway and the thing about my game is that I pride myself on not making bogeys from the middle of the fairway,” he said at Palm Beach Gardens.
“Maybe with a WGC next week missing the cut can be a good thing for me, and maybe in view of my good record here I put too much pressure on myself.
“The guys I played with played great and it was just like I was tagging along making up the three-ball.”
The WGC-Mexico Championship is replacing the WGC-Cadillac Championship and Knox has fond memories of playing well in Mexico, having been runner-up in the PGA Tour’s 2015 OHL Mayakoba Classic, but that was held at Cancun on Mexico’s Caribbean shoreline. Mexico City at 8,400 feet is the eighth highest capital city in the world.
But then Knox is used to heights. “I’ve been to Bogota in Colombia to play golf and that’s like about 8,600 feet above sea level,” he said.
“You hit your drive up there well over 340 yards, so I can’t wait to see how guys like Dustin Johnson hit the ball next week, as they’ll be driving 400 yards plus.
“So maybe due to the high altitude I can hit the ball plus 300-yards all week and that would be great.
“It’s going to be a massive difference compared to the Mayakoba, and that is why I am taking the charter to get there early and
get acclimatised.
“It’s going to take a few days to get the feel of the ball going so far, but I’m looking forward to it as I will be bombing it.”
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