Russell Knox backing PGA Tour plans but admits golf’s return is a ‘risk’

US-based Scot is on the Player Advisory Council that helped draw up strict guidelines for play to resume

Russell Knox is based in Jacksonville, Florida, so will not need to go through two weeks of quarantine before competing. Picture: Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Talk about a baptism of fire. Russell Knox’s first year on the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council, which also includes Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas, has been interesting, to say the least. The 16-strong group may only have sat around the same table once since the Scot joined, but there has been no shortage of chat among them over the past few weeks.

Tasked with advising and consulting with the PGA Tour board and its commissioner, Jay Monahan, on issues affecting the circuit, Knox and his fellow PAC members have been at the heart of matters during the coronavirus pandemic, including the plan announced earlier this week for its scheduled restart in just over three weeks’ time.

“It’s been quite an introduction,” Knox, laughing, told Scotland on Sunday of being involved in a process that has produced a 37-page document aimed at providing the safest possible environment when competition returns at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas and the subsequent events on a revamped schedule in a country where the virus has claimed close to 90,000 lives so far.

Two months in the making, the plans outline a strict testing regime and measures that will be in place surrounding each tournament – the Fort Worth event at Colonial Country Club will be the first of four to be staged behind closed doors – as well as “strong recommendations” for travel and accommodation between.

“I kind of knew the background before it was released,” added Knox, who reckoned it was the right time for him to offer some “input” into day-to-day matters on the circuit in his ninth season on the PGA Tour. “I feel pretty good about it. It was like Jay Monahan said, ‘listen, if we wait until there is no risk, we will never play until there is a vaccine for this virus’.

“There is obviously going to be a little bit of risk involved in going back, but the tour is not going to let anyone play if there is a high risk of infection. They are going to make sure they do the right thing. We are going to be tested a lot. There’s going to be very limited people on site. There’s going to be limited interaction with people. They are definitely going to do their 100 per cent best in order for no one involved to get the virus. But obviously, with that being said, there is a risk.”

Knox will be in Fort Worth, as will McIlroy and Brooks Koepka, the world No 1 and No 3 respectively. “I think everybody will be excited to play,” said Knox of the circuit preparing to start up again after going into lockdown following the first round of the Players Championship in Florida on 13 March. “But I can guarantee you no one wants to get the virus.

“That’s the bigger question here. The tournament is going to be run safely and it is going to go well. But what happens if someone gets the virus? You are going to have to self isolate in that location for two weeks. Think how miserable that would be being stuck in a hotel by yourself for two weeks. That’s the difficult part of this and it seems unrealistic as the travel is stepped up that no-one is going to get it.”

While Knox is unaffected due to the fact he lives in the US, PGA Tour card holders based outside the US face a 14-day quarantine in America before they can tee up. Tommy Fleetwood, the world No 10, has already indicated he is unwilling to leave his family in England to base himself on the other side of the Atlantic for the entire summer.

“I understand Tommy’s position, 100 per cent,” said Knox, who has been based in Jacksonville since he left Inverness to attend college there. “That’s a tough one. I feel bad for the people who are out of the country and in that situation, with Anirban Lahiri, who is also on the Player Advisory Council, back in India at the moment. You don’t want to fly here and have to quarantine for two weeks.

“All these things were thought about before the decision was taken to get things restarted and, ultimately, the tour felt it was fair for most people. In Tommy’s situation, it is hard to make that call with his family. For anyone who has to travel internationally, it is a hard one. I don’t have the answers to that, to be honest.”

While the Open Championship, due to be held at Royal St George’s in July, has been cancelled by the R&A, the three other men’s majors have all been rescheduled. The US PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco has been moved to early August, the US Open is now due to be played at Winged Foot in September and the Masters occupies a novel November slot.

“Personally, if not everyone who is eligible can play in a major, then it shouldn’t happen,” declared Knox, who sits 123rd in the frozen world rankings. “It’s a privilege and honour to get to play in majors. So, if some people don’t get to play due to travel issues, there is no way they should be playing them.

“It would be great if we were back to some kind of normal by August, but California is kind of its own animal. My uncle lives in that area of the country in San Francisco. They have been affected and they have strict restrictions. I hope all the rescheduled majors go according to plan, but I am not overly optimistic about the PGA Championship, to be honest.”

Like McIlroy, Knox is planning to play in the first three events on the revamped US schedule, meaning he is also set to tee up at the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head in South Carolina and the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut.

“They are three of my favourite events I play during the year on the PGA Tour and, of course, I won the Travelers Championship in Hartford in 2016,” said the 34-year-old, who enjoyed seeing his mum, Valerie, on Mother’s Day in the US last weekend for the first time since lockdown restrictions were implemented in the Sunshine State.

“I’m looking forward to playing three events I enjoy straight off the bat. Hopefully I can play well in those events and take it from there. I guess the idea is we are rested and should be raring to go come June.

“The last few weeks have been strange for everyone in the world, which is so weird to say when you think about it. It seems surreal that everyone in the world has been affected by this.

“It has been strange, but also good in a way. I kind of enjoy being at home anyway. Since I turned pro in 2007, it’s not been a case of me being constantly on the go, but I’ve had a 12-year run of travelling a lot and playing a lot of golf.

“To be honest, it’s kind of nice being at home and hitting the reset button, feeling rested and having time to get away from the game of golf a little bit. For the first month or so of this, I didn’t think about golf too much, to be honest. Recently I’ve been starting to practice and playing a little bit and thinking about my game a little bit more.

“But that first couple of weeks you just knew it was going to be quite a long break and it was just a case of shutting down the mind in terms of golf, which was refreshing. I obviously wish the circumstances could have been different, but it’s been nice to be sleeping in your own bed every night and cooking your own food.

“I enjoy firing up the BBQ and I’ve got a big tri-tip roast – a bit of beef – to grill up later. Life as a travelling golfer means you eat out all the time but, with being at home, it’s been nice to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at home for a change.”

Not for too much longer, though.

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