They like things big in the plush Wentworth estate. Big mansions, big cars, big bank accounts, the big bellies of the golf writers. Russell Knox has made it big here too … quite literally. A giant, 60-foot banner of the Scot, along with six other well kent faces from the world of golf, is draped from the grandstand at the back of the West Course’s 18th green as they dress everything up for the BMW PGA Championship. Some may be intimidated by seeing their own head and shoulders blown up to quite terrifying proportions. For Knox, who is making his debut in the European Tour’s flagship event this week, it’s just another sign that he has well and truly made it on the global stage.

“This is what I've always wanted,” said the Inverness exile, who will face an almighty job folding said poster up and shoving it in his luggage as a keepsake. “You have to sit back at night and think, ‘hey, I want to be a superstar’ and you've got to be ready for it. I've got the opportunity to play on the PGA Tour, on the European Tour and in events like the Masters. I have to see myself winning them and winning lots of them hopefully. If you’re doing that, then there are going to be pictures of you. People are going to want to watch you. You're going to have to do stuff like this. I've always dreamed of being a star and hopefully one day I will be.”

At No 23 on the world rankings, a rise up the global order which was aided by his breakthrough win in the WGC HSBC Champions last November, Knox is, well, living the dream.

With an engaging, light-hearted manner as well as a sturdy mental resolve, Knox’s calm demeanour masks a fiery will to win. The 30-year-old has had to work hard on channelling those competitive energies into the right areas, min d you.

“I mean just like everyone else I was a total head case on the course at one point,” confessed Knox, who has arrived in the leafy Surrey stockbroker belt fresh from a share of second in last weekend’s Irish Open. “I used to get so mad. I didn't throw clubs or anything, but I got internal rage. If I made a club mistake or had a couple of bad holes my body temperature would rise and I would just want to snap every club in my bag. But I was never a club thrower. I've worked very hard at that, though. It's extremely difficult. Since I've been a pro and I've been out here on tour I’ve become aware that the difference between the top superstars and the guys who aren't quite there is a lot to do with attitude.”

In this very individual pursuit, Knox is very much his own man. The relationship he had with his late coach Mike Flemming, who passed away a couple of years ago, continues to heavily influence his approach to the game. It’s one that has reaped considerable rewards.

“Professional golf can be very intimidating and when I first got on the PGA Tour in 2012, I’d walk up to the range and see these superstars and they are trying this and that and I would think, ‘maybe I should do that, maybe I need this coach or that coach to do this?’ But professional golf is all about doing what you need to do and I don't really care what other people do anymore. It's an extremely selfish game and that's how people get good at it because they figure out what works best for them and stick with it.

“Mike taught me everything I needed to know. He made me the player I am today and he's watching me play somewhere, wherever he is. I'm never going have a relationship with another coach like I did with Mike, so I'm not going to try.”

Five years ago, Knox won his first title on the Web.com Tour, the second-tier of American professional golf, en route to promotion to the main PGA circuit. That same week in 2011, Darren Clarke won his first major in the Open at Sandwich. Here in 2016, Clarke is Europe’s Ryder Cup captain and Knox is knocking on the door of the team. Opportunities abound in this game.

“Some of us potential (Ryder Cup) players shared a meal with Darren and he showed us a picture of what the team bag will look like and he just said, ‘imagine your name on that bag’,” added Knox. “That really motivated me.”

Whether it’s bags or big banners, the signs continue to look good for Knox.