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ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT SCOTTISH OPEN

July 11, 2017

Russell Knox

Ayrshire, Scotland

MICHAEL GIBBONS: Thoughts on being home.

RUSSELL KNOX: Yeah, it's obviously terrific to be back in Scotland. Lovely weather today, blue skies. I wish I came back more than I do. Every time I land here, I feel like I'm at home when I come here, so that's obviously good.

It's nice to take some good breaths of clean, Scottish air. Feels like it's fresher here and the water is colder here. It's always nice to be back.

MICHAEL GIBBONS: Knowledge of Dundonald?

RUSSELL KNOX: 18 holes yesterday. That was my first go around. Pretty much no knowledge. It was nice. Got around in three hours and 30 minutes I think.

The course is great. It's right in front of you. I liked it a lot.

Q. You played the French and had a holiday. Do you feel refreshed?
RUSSELL KNOX: I hope so. It was nice. Obviously I didn't make the cut in France. I had the weekend off and spent the week in Italy with my wife. I didn't touch a club for nine days, which I probably needed. Italy was really nice just to get away from it all for a week, a bit of sightseeing. It was relaxing to not think about golf for a week.

Q. Where do you feel your game is at at the moment then?
RUSSELL KNOX: Yeah, it's not nearly as bad as I think a lot of people think it is. Golf, it's a crazy game. You're one good swing way compared to one bad swing away from being completely different.

In France I played well. Made a couple bad swings at the wrong time that cost me shots and wasn't able to capitalise on birdie chances on Friday. And all of the sudden I was close to the cut line, made a bad swing on 1, hit it in the water and all of a sudden I was in big trouble.

It's not far off. Every single professional golfer that's not playing the way they want is going to say it's not far off. I don't feel like my game is any worse than it was last year when I was playing well. It's just a confidence thing.

A good example would be Tommy Fleetwood. Once you see some good things going, you just run with it. I kind of felt like that last year; I was going to play good every week. This year, I'm probably one good performance away from getting on a good run of my own. Good week can start right here hopefully.

Q. Last year there was a lot of attention on you. Do you think maybe this week you can fly under the radar a little bit better and you won't have to worry about the distractions?
RUSSELL KNOX: I think so, but at the same time, we all want the distraction and we all want to be talked about because we're playing well.

Yeah, this year, I haven't shown the form I had last year but it's there hopefully. It could come out at any week. Like I say, I'm pretty sure that all it's going to take is one decent performance and I'm going to snowball. I've had decent moments. I played well in Memphis on the weekend not too long ago.

Like I said, in France -- the U.S. Open was disappointing for me because I just played in Memphis and Sunday I played very well. I think I shot maybe 3- or 4-under but I felt like it was the first round in a while where I felt like it could have been 7-, 8-under, and I missed the cut at the U.S. Open which was very disappointing and that just kind of nudged me back probably slightly. And France, also, wasn't what I wanted.

It's close. I'm not too worried about it. I know I'll figure out what to do eventually.

Q. Last year there was a lot of hype, as well, regarding The Ryder Cup. What's your plan and is it still your goal to try to make The European Team next year for France?
RUSSELL KNOX: Yeah, it's definitely a goal. I mean, that's one of the reasons why I went to play in France was to get to see the course. I loved it, even though I didn't play well. I thought it was a great course. It's going to be an amazing Ryder Cup venue. I think everybody knows that.

It was nice to go and see the course. But no, it's definitely a goal. I guess the No. 1 goal I've got to say is Top-50. If I don't play in the majors and WGCs, I have no chance of making The Ryder Cup Team. I'm going to have to win again, which is great. If you make the team or you're even close to it, you've played well, you've won tournaments, you've contended.

The bottom line is, I've got to do a lot better than I've been doing the last four or five months to even be in the conversation. But the good thing is, the points haven't started yet. So maybe I'm just waiting my time until they start.

Q. What did you learn specifically about the Ryder Cup last year by way of not qualifying for it? Do you see any mistakes looking back?
RUSSELL KNOX: No, there was no mistakes. I got asked to play -- I was happy with my decision. I didn't feel like -- I've said this a million times. I felt like I played good enough to make the team because the points in China didn't count. I felt like I played well enough to be picked. That's a different story.

But no, I'll do the same thing. Hopefully I'll keep playing well and have a reason to play more in Europe to make the team. But if I'm anywhere close like I was last year, I'll do everything I can could try and make the team.

Q. Will you change your schedule possibly, play one or two more events?
RUSSELL KNOX: Absolutely. I watched every minute of it on TV and I want to be there in 2018. I'll try my best to make the team, that's more sure.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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