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NEW YORK -- A top European Tour official waited patiently as Russell Knox wrapped up his duties from winning a World Golf Championship. He wanted to introduce himself to Knox and share details on how to become a tour member.Ten months later, Knox had reason to feel like an outcast.The 31-year-old Scot easily would have qualified for the Ryder Cup if he had been a European Tour member when he won the HSBC Champions last November. Even without those valuable points, Knox had all the credentials to be at Hazeltine.He has two PGA Tour victories this season. He was runner-up to Rory McIlroy at the Irish Open, to Branden Grace at Hilton Head and he lost in a playoff to Graeme McDowell in Mexico last fall. Knox was No. 4 when the FedEx Cup playoffs began, one spot ahead of Jordan Spieth. He is No. 20 in the world, the sixth-highest ranked European.That wasnt enough for European captain Darren Clarke to take him to the Ryder Cup.Clarke used his three picks Tuesday on the Ryder Cup experience of Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, and the raw talent and recent form of Thomas Pieters. He said the phone call to Knox on Monday was probably one of the toughest of his career.But not the longest.We spoke for 20 seconds, Knox said. It was obvious by the way he said, `Hello that it was bad news. I didnt ask any questions. I wasnt going to ask who he picked or why not me. After the bad news, it was get off the phone as quick as possible.The disappointment in Knoxs voice was evident, even though part of him had a hunch this was coming. He felt as though he deserved to be on the team because of his performance. He also knows that a captain can choose whomever he wants, and I gave him that choice by not making the team outright.Think back to his victory at the Travelers Championship at the start of the month, when Knox holed a 12-foot par putt on the 18th hole and threw his cap across the green in celebration. Much of that emotion was that Knox felt certain he had done enough to lock up his spot in the Ryder Cup.Sadly, it wasnt, he said.He said Clarke and assistant captain Ian Poulter encouraged him to play the Wyndham Championship, his final chance to earn points. Knox declined. He would have needed a fourth-place finish, and to play the Wyndham would have meant playing seven times in nine weeks going to the Ryder Cup and I probably would have been burned out by the time I got to Hazeltine.Did that hurt his chances? Probably.Pieters made his case by shooting 62 in Denmark while playing with Clarke -- it was no accident they were paired together -- and going on to win the tournament. Knox was impressed with what Pieters did in Denmark, and who Pieters is as a player. He had no complaints with the Belgian being picked.Even so, Knox was left to wonder how much he was seriously considered.Knox was born and raised in Scotland. He claims Florida as home from having lived there since college.He has never felt European.Clarke hinted at Knox being an outsider when he said Tuesday the Ryder Cup is about more than just playing. Its about the team room and the dynamics and everything thats involved in it, he said.Knox was hard-pressed to think of another European Ryder Cup player whose golfing roots are in America. He said he barely knows Clarke or the assistants. That includes Poulter, even though theyve had the same agent for years.Ultimately, I had that going against me, Knox said. I dont even know Paul Lawrie. Sam Torrance seems like a legend -- I dont know him. I played with Thomas Bjorn once, and we didnt speak one word. I dont have relationships with anyone. Im not really close to anyone on the team.If I would have been picked, it could have been 100 percent different.While saying he was disappointed, Knox also acknowledged it was time to move on. He changed the screen saver on his phone Tuesday to show the FedEx Cup, which he said he will look at for motivation. He would love to win one of these next three playoff events to show Clarke what he is missing.He respects the choices the captain has to make.Someone always gets left behind. Making an argument for one player is to devalue the merits of another.I might be a story today, Knox said. But in a couple of weeks time, nobody is going to remember -- except for a couple of Scottish people -- that I didnt get picked. Cubs Jerseys China . LUCIE, Fla. Fergie Jenkins Jersey Large . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Olympic officials were full of praise when they awarded the Olympics to Rio seven years ago, never imagining such things as the Zika virus and green water in the pools.Indeed, they declared that there was absolutely no flaw in Rios plans for the games.Many of those plans have since gone awry, as plans often do. The first Olympics in South America remains very much a work in progress, beset by myriad problems that organizers seem unable -- or unwilling -- to solve.Midway through the games, its time to give the Rio Olympics some grades:ATMOSPHERE: This isnt London with its iconic venues, but Rio has some things going for it as an Olympic host. Beach volleyball on the famed Copacabana sand looks good, and so does the sailing on Guanabara Bay, assuming you can ignore the raw sewage that pours into it. But the main Olympic park is barren and devoid of decoration, the diving and water polo pools are green , and most of the venues look like they were built without concern about whether they would stay up. Did we mention the sewage stench that greets fans at some venues? Take away the occasional samba dancing, and theres not much to get anyone in the Olympic spirit. GRADE D-plus.ATTITUDE: There has been plenty of it, from U.S. soccer goalie Hope Solo calling the Swedish team a bunch of cowards to an Egyptian judoka refusing to shake the hand of his Israeli opponent after a match. The best attitude of the whole Olympics, though, came from U.S. swimmer Lilly King, who called out her Russian opponent for doping and then backed it up by beating her for a gold medal in the pool. These are the best athletes in the world, and sometimes they have a lot to say, even if some of it is offensive. GRADE B.WATER: What is it about Brazil and water? The country just cant get it right. Guanabara Bay looks beautiful on television but dangerous up close, and the water in the rowing venue is filled with viruses, much to the displeasure of the pair of Serbian rowers who tipped over in it. Meanwhile, the worlds best divers plunge into a murky green pool, and water polo was played in a pool so full of chlorine that they finally had to drain and refill it. GRADE F.CROWDS: Theres a lot to like about fans who cheer loudly for underdogs and the home team, and enjoy taunting almost everybody else. OK, maybe they went a bit too far when chanting Uh! Youre gonna die! Uh! Youre gonna die! to the opponent of a Brazilian fencer, but it seemed to all be done in fun. On the flip side, there were lots of empty seats at many events because of high ticket prices or a lack of interest. GRADE C.SAFETY: A media bus had its windows shattered and stray bullets were twice fired into Olympic complexes. Two Australian coaches were robbed at knifepoint near Ipanema beach, and so was Portugals education minister. Gang members in a favela killed a Brazillian police officer who took a wrong turn while working Olympic security, and fans attending the opening ceremony passed by a man shot to death in the street.dddddddddddd Rio was a dangerous city to begin with, but the incidents are even more disturbing considering there are more than 85,000 security forces deployed to protect the games. GRADE D.MEMORABLE PERFORMANCES: Every Olympics has some, even one as troubled as Rio. Michael Phelps won a bunch of medals once again, but its not like that hasnt happened before. Indeed, the best moments from the pool came when Katie Ledecky nearly lapped the field in the 800-meter for her fourth Olympic gold, and Simone Manuel became the first African-American woman to win a swimming gold. Not as well noticed outside Brazil was Rafaela Silva taking judo gold , the first win for the home team. Silva, who grew up in poverty in the City of God favela, was subjected to racial abuse from Brazilians after missing out on a medal in the 2012 Olympics. Today, Im not an embarrassment for my family, she said. GRADE B.DOPING: This has nothing to do with Rio, and everything to do with the International Olympic Committee allowing politics to mix with cheaters. Five more have been caught doping so far in these games, but if history is any indication a lot more will get away with doping in Rio just like they have in other Olympics. GRADE D.LOGISTICS: Traveling to different venues has been a nightmare at times, largely because Rio is separated by mountains and Brazils highways often look more like parking lots. Everyone seems to have a story about confused taxi drivers and lengthy bus rides, though for the most part the buses have run on time and theyve usually gone to the right places. That wasnt true Friday night when British swimmer got on an unmarked bus at the Olympic village and was taken to the Olympic Stadium 45 minutes away instead of the nearby swimming arena. Swimming officials had to push back the 50-meter qualifying schedule so she and two others could make it in time. GRADE C.OVERALL: Rio was always a disaster waiting to happen, and so far disaster has largely been avoided. Hysteria over the Zika virus has faded, there have been no terrorist attacks, and only one sailor has reported being sickened by polluted waters. More importantly, perhaps, the big television show that is the Olympics looks good on TV, even if NBCs ratings are down.Still, every Olympics has its problems and Rio has had more than most. If things dont get better in the final week, that is how these games will ultimately be remembered. GRADE C-minus.----Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg ' ' '