Ten days ago, Russell Knox didn’t have a Tour win to his name and wasn’t even in the field for the WGC-HSBC Champions.
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Knox’s wife, Andrea, spent a frantic day filling out visa forms to allow the golfer to travel to China.
It was Knox’s first victory on either the European or PGA Tour, with the co-sanctioned tournament part of the European Tour’s Race To Dubai.
Spieth had expected to be rusty after his longest lay-off for 10 years, going two weeks without touching a club after helping the United States retain the Presidents Cup in Korea last month.
Jordan Spieth has the chance to add yet another trophy to his burgeoning collection following a marvellous third round 63 in the WGC-HSBC Champions on Saturday.
Li Haotong of China faded quickly but still managed to achieve one goal.
Like Knox, Kisner is seeking his first PGA Tour title after losing out in three play-offs this year, including to Sergio Garcia and eventual victor Rickie Fowler in the Players Championship.
Two birdies on the back nine at least allowed him to post a 70 and tie for seventh, enough for the 22-year-old Texan to return to No. 1 in the world.Kisner birdied the 18th for a 70 to finish alone in second.
Kisner had a final-hole birdie for a 2-under-par 70. That took him back to even par for the day following three birdies against a bogey over his first seven holes and he slipped over par when dropping another shot at 10. Playing before a home crowd – he grew up in Shanghai and plays out of Lake Malaren, home of next week’s BMW Masters – he prepared Friday night to cope with the stress and pressure and turned it into the most fun he’s had on a golf course. The Yorkshireman had trailed McIlroy by 400,000 points going into this event but now there is just 74,000 between them, despite the fact McIlroy closed with a 67 to tie for seventh place. Li wasted no time getting the Chinese gallery fired up when he opened with four straight birdies on his way to a 66 that had him also one shot back.
So good was his ball striking, the demon putter could afford to miss four putts inside eight feet and yet still turn in a scintillating nine-birdie round.
Knox then retook the lead with a birdie on 11, but the chasing pack continued to pick up shots as well to keep the top of the leaderboard congested.
The victory sends Knox to the Masters in April for the first time, along with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. His only other close call was a four-man playoff in the 2014 Honda Classic that included McIlroy and was won by Russell Henley.
“Incredible for me this week”, Li said.
Jordan is said to be pushing for a high profile victory to cap off his great golfing year, and after his third round, he thinks that it could be possible. His Sunday success will give him a two-year exemption to the European circuit, should he decide to take it. All of a sudden there are plenty of things to ponder.
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“This is now my favorite tournament”, Knox said.
