Russell Knox at the Valspar Championship: One clutch swing on Friday 'could change a season'

But one late swing late Friday afternoon, a fading 6-iron to 3 feet at the 191-yard eighth hole (his 17th) got him to the weekend, and once there on Saturday, he made the most of it. Four birdies on his back nine lifted Knox to his second 4-under 67 of the tournament, and at 3-under 210, he’ll be within earshot of the lead on Sunday.

His Friday 76, Knox said, was a bit misleading. He didn't feel that he played that poorly, but threw away four shots in four holes beginning on the 18th (his ninth hole), twice three-putting and blading a bunker shot on another hole. “Brain farts more than anything,” he said.

But at 2 over for the tournament and facing a possible weekend off, Knox produced that one terrific swing with his 6-iron on the eighth hole, the shot coming off exactly how he’d envisioned it would. For a man who prides himself on his consistency, and making cuts, making such a clutch birdie was a very big deal.

After posting but one top-10 finish in 10 starts this year, Knox said his shot at No. 8 was the variety that could alter his entire path in 2018-19.

“I had to dig deep. I was struggling, obviously,” Knox said Saturday. “I birdied 5 to get to 1 over, then drove it behind a tree on the next hole and made bogey. I knew I needed one more (birdie) to be safe.

“I hit an unbelievable shot at 8, held a little 6-iron against the wind to make birdie, and that was big. It was one of those shots that could change a season. If I’d have missed the cut by a shot, I would not have been in a good mood having been right up there after day 1. So it was one of those birdies that really meant a lot to me.”

Knox turned in even on Saturday, and hoped to shoot 2 or 3 under on the back nine. He’d do even better. He birdied the par-5 11th (he has played that hole in 5 under thus far), birdied 13, then ran in a 30-footer at 15 and topped that with an 80-footer from downtown Tampa on the par-4 16th.

“The one I holed at 16 will probably be the longest putt I’ll hole all year,” he said. “It was nice to see that one go in.”

As memorable as holing a 3-wood from 275 yards for an albatross at 11 on Thursday will be for Knox, one got the feeling on Saturday that one swing with a 6-iron a day later could turn out to mean much, much more.

“There are definitely shots I hit that I remember,” he said. “It’s such a hard, negative game. If you can find ways to remember the good shots, it really does go a long way. That 6-iron yesterday came off exactly how I’d pictured it in my mind. I was between a 7-iron and a 6-iron, the 7 I would have had to draw and the 6 I needed to hold against the wind … It was just a shot that I needed to hit.”

He pulled it off, and his reward was a tee time on Saturday. Bonus golf. And Knox now has one more round at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course to really make it count.