Scot shoots second-round 63 in Oklahoma

Opportunity Knox for

Russell in Hooters

Tour event

Inverness exile Russell Knox, now based in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, shot a nine-under-par second round of 63 to zoom into contention for a big pay-out in the Buffalo Run Casino Classic, the latest event on the NGA Hooters Tour, at Peoria Ridge Golf Club in Oklahoma.
Knox, who had a bogey-free first round of 69, went into Sunday's final two rounds in the rain-hit 72-hole tournament, in joint seventh place on 12-under-par 132.
Amazingly, his 63 included a double-bogey 6 at the second. The former Scotland youth cap, who played for four years on the American college circuit as a student at Jacksonville University, Florida, had an eagle 3 at the eighth and nine birdies, including six after the turn for an inward half of 30. He birdied the last four holes.
Knox, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), is still six shots behind the leader, Jeff Corr, from Florida who scored 62 and 64 for 18-under-par 126, underlining how high the standards are on this US satellite tour. To survive the halfway cut in this tournament, players had to shoot seven-under-par 137 or better.
The Scot has earned $31,896 from nine events, having missed the cut in two of them.
His biggest cheque so far was for $11,265 in the Guatemala Open in late February.
Two other former college players, David Skinns from Lincoln and Colin Spiers from Dunblane, are lying joint 14th and tied 43rd respectively
Skinns has scored 64 and 69 for 133, Spiers a pair of 68s for 136.