Russell Knox is aiming to become Mr Consistent

Russell Knox is enjoying a purple patch on the US Tour, netting over $200,000 in his last three starts.

Yet despite banking $57,000 after the Colonial last weekend, he actually dropped a spot to 39th on the US Money list.

“That just shows you how competitive the Tour is,” says the 29-year-old from Inverness.

“You have to have all your ducks in a row in order to stay ultra-sharp, both mentally and physically.”

Knox insists the next six weeks will be the toughest stretch of the whole year, with two Majors and the Scottish Open taking centre stage.

And, despite his blips at Wentworth and the Irish Open, he still has no doubt Rory McIlroy is the man they’ll all have to beat.

“The whole picture right now is great for golf because we have Jordan Spieth and Ricky Fowler trying to mount a challenge to Rory,” he says.

“But they are not really in the same bracket as Rory when it comes to accomplishments and everybody knows that.

“So there is no rivalry as such. That’s my take on it, even though Spieth is an unbelievable player, as is Ricky. But they are not in the same conversation as Rory.

“It simply boils down to people wanting to create another Tiger Woods/Phil Mickelson situation.

“But it would not surprise me if Phil makes another run at the US Open. I played with him in the third round at Charlotte recently, and he left me totally impressed.

“He is an unbelievable player, who has all the shots for sure. It would be impossible for me to say anything negative about his chances to win any of the majors coming up.

“In fact, I came away from that round convinced he will win another Major. That’s how much of an impact he had on me.”

Knox will tee it up at Gullane in the Scottish Open, treating it all with a business-as-usual attitude.

“It will be nice to have the chance to play in front of family and friends. But I’m not even going to go out of my way over there to play another Open qualifier if I have not already made the Open field at St Andrews,” he continues.

“If I play my way in, great. But if I don’t, then we will spend another week in Scotland on vacation.

“Everyone wants to win, but my goal is to be up there all the time, rather than be a one-hit wonder.”

Knox plays in the US Open Qualifying a week tomorrow, and would love to be in the mix at its conclusion three weeks tonight when he celebrates his 30th birthday.

“I have to admit I love the atmosphere at the US Open, and I really am hoping to qualify again this year.

“But Gullane will be one of the highlights of my year and I only hope I do better than when I last played there in the Scottish Boys Match Play.

“I had a hole-in-one but I still got smoked by Greg McBain from Aberdeen!”