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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- They were always close as friends. They used to be just as close as golfers.Russell Knox and Duncan Stewart grew up 30 miles apart in the Scottish Highlands and spent four years as teammates at Jacksonville University. Their careers went in wildly different directions since they last played in the same tournament at the Atlantic Sun Conference championship.That was more than nine years ago.Neither could have imagined the circumstances for such a dream reunion.Knox is No. 18 in the world, the winner of a World Golf Championship and a sympathetic figure this summer for being left off the Ryder Cup team.Stewart, who worked in a slaughterhouse and drove a delivery van to help pay the bills, took out a bank loan to give his golf career one last shot, and he made it pay off. He won a Challenge Tour event in Spain on a sponsors exemption in April, moved up nearly 1,000 spots in the world ranking to No. 315 and finally earned a European Tour card.Knox never forgot his friend.As the highest-ranked player in Scotland, Knox was allowed to pick his partner for the World Cup next week at Kingston Heath in Australia, provided his teammate was among the top 500 in the world. He picked Stewart.It was a surprising choice for some because three other Scots are ranked ahead of Stewart.It was an easy choice for Knox.Were going to talk about this forever, the rest of our lives, Knox said. Were going to have the best time. Its going to be epic.Knox first raised the prospect in May, and Stewart figured he was joking. But after Knox won his second PGA Tour title at the Travelers Championship, he sent Stewart a text asking him his plans the week of the World Cup.The last thing he said was, `Lets go win this, Stewart said.Paul Lawrie was among the first to raise questions about the pick, saying on Twitter, Is Duncan Stewart the second highest-ranked Scot? The former British Open champion believes the two best players available should have represented Scotland. Then again, only Knox and Martin Laird have earned more ranking points than Stewart this year.Besides, the World Cup is as much about team as simply two players from the same country.Ever since I picked Duncan, hes only played awesome, Knox said. He was better than I was in college. Our paths have gone in slightly different directions. It could have easily been the other way around. If the roles were reversed, he would have picked me.Knox used a recruiting company to help find a college in the U.S., and while Jacksonville was not a golf powerhouse, the weather there was a wee bit better than in Inverness. His late coach, Mike Fleming, was looking to fill out Jacksonvilles roster and Knox mentioned his friend from home.Knox had a slightly better scoring average over their four years. Stewart won more tournaments and was the Atlantic Sun player of the year as a sophomore. Stewart made more birdies. Knox was more consistent. They even worked at the same country club in the cart barn to pocket spare cash for the mini-tours when they graduated.Thats when it changed.Knox has joint citizenship (his father is American) and had a stronger financial backing. Stewart said he would stay until he could no longer afford it, and the money ran out about the time the engine blew up in his $600 car. He headed home to Scotland where he could stay with his parents and pay less in entry fees to small tournaments.If he would have stayed, I know he would have made it to the tour, Knox said.Stewart took a hard road. He played the EuroPro Tour, one year missing his Challenge Tour card by 300 pounds. He tried to change his swing to get more distance and figures that cost him two years. He took whatever jobs he could find and stopped playing for eight months out of frustration.Knox, meanwhile, made his way onto the Web.com Tour as a Monday qualifier, won a tournament, graduated to the PGA Tour and steadily improved each year until he broke through in a big way by winning the HSBC Champions in Shanghai.It was fantastic to see on the one hand, Stewart said. And it motivated me on the other.Stewart worked harder than ever, and then decided to take out the bank loan to give himself a proper chance. He missed his Challenge Tour card by one spot on the money list but saw enough progress to keep going. He started this year with no status on the Challenge Tour and wound up with his European Tour card.If you had told me at the start of the year I would finish 10th on the Challenge Tour and play in the World Cup with Russell, I would have laughed, he said. Were both really excited. Mirco Mueller Jersey . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. Sami Vatanen Jersey .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. http://www.devilssale.com/authentic-cory-schneider-devils-jersey/ . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Taylor Hall Devils Jersey . It was hard for Luck to pull off another comeback, or even get into the end zone, while standing on the sideline. Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals to give the Chargers a 19-9 victory against the Colts on Monday night. Scott Stevens Devils Jersey . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. It started with a hoverboard.Near the height of the popularity of the handleless-riding devices, Alex Scales brought one to the gym for his usual workout. One thing led to another, and a trick-shot series was born.I was on a hoverboard messing around at the gym, Scales said. One of my guys was like, I bet you cant make it from there. So I just shot a 3, and then I made it, and it just caught on from there.In an effort to keep things fresh at his workouts, Scales turned that one video into Trick Shot Tuesday, a series where he posts new and increasingly impressive trick shots every week on his Instagram account. The shots have enjoyed plenty of viral moments and multiple appearances on the SportsCenter Top 10.The one that really caught fire was the one I did the actual push-up on, he said of the video that shows him making a hook shot from half court while doing a push-up off of the basketball. That was probably one of the hardest ones that Id done, because of the fitness you need to be able to have to do it.Scales doesnt have any long-term plans for his trick-shot game, aside from growing his Instagram following (hes currently hovering just above 2,000). Nor does he spend too much time practicing his craft in the gym at Arizona State where he works out. He said he usually comes up with the shot for Trick Shot Tuesday that day and often completes the whole process -- from conception to practice to filming the final product -- in about 30 minutes.I had one where I kicked it. I was like, You know what, Im only gonna give it five tries. After these five tries, Im done, Scales said. Then I made it on the fifth try. It just depends on the difficulty of the shot. Some of the ones that people are like, Man, that was crazy, that looked difficult, Im like, That was one of my easier shots.Those who dont know Scales background might think its improbable that hed be able to complete trick shots with such ease. But hes not just a random person posting trick-shot videos on Instagram. Scales spent 15 years as a professional basketball player and once held an NBA record -- for the shortest career.Scales, who went undrafted out of Oregon in 2000, made his NBA debut -- and farewell -- on Nov. 19, 2005, for the San Antonio Spurs, playing just 9.2 seconds at the end of a 97-91 win over the Phoenix Suns. He shared the court with future Hall of Famers Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, along with ESPNs Bruce Bowen, who had his number retired by the Spurs in 2012.A week later, Scales was waived and never got another shot at the NBA. San Antonio was his fourth and final stop in the league, after he had preseason stints with the New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets and Seattle SuperSonics. Scales thought he had his best shot at an NBA breakthrough in Seattle.dddddddddddd.When I was with Seattle, there was a great write-up about me, he said. This is when Rick Brunson had his first guaranteed contract. They had written in the paper that [the Sonics] had a million-dollar question: Do they keep Rick Brunson or Alex Scales? Ray Allen was quoted in the paper saying, Alex Scales is the only one playing like he belongs here.The Sonics cut Scales at the end of the preseason, and then he was picked up two weeks later by the Spurs. It was the third time in his career that he thought hed done everything he needed to do in the preseason to make the roster, only to end up on the wrong end of the waiver wire.It was just a sad situation to see a guy who did everything he was supposed to do, was productive when he got in the game, to not get an opportunity, he said. Because I felt like if I would have gotten that opportunity, I wouldve been something special.With the NBA door closed to him, Scales went to the D-League and eventually back to Europe, where hed started his professional career in 2000 in Italy. Scales last played professionally for Tadamon Zouk in Lebanon, the culmination of a 15-year career that saw him also make stops in China, Argentina, South Korea, Spain, Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and Puerto Rico. When he was in China, he had his most memorable experience of culture shock.I wanted some shrimp, so they come out, they bring me some shrimp, he said. Its got the eyes, the legs -- Im like, Man, what is this? Im not used to this shrimp!Scales first played in China in 2001-02, before Yao Ming came over to the NBA, and again two seasons later, when the NBA boom was just beginning in the country. He said its been impressive to watch how much the game has grown in China, but he does regret one aspect of that.The pay [in China] is 18,000 times more than what it was then, Scales said. I tell people now that I grew up in the wrong era.Now 38, Scales knows the window is closing on his basketball career, but hes trying to keep it open as long as possible and says hell listen to any team that calls to inquire about his services. But until then, hell keep making trick-shot videos every Tuesday, and he hopes they can entertain and motivate people.If something comes up out of it, itd be great, but at the same time, I like doing it to see peoples reactions, he said. People are like, I could never do anything like that. But I always emphasize that practice makes perfect, so theres always something youre capable of doing if you put your mind to it. So thats why I go about it. ' ' '