Ryan Fox’s feet may have only touched European soil for the first time just two weeks ago but the New Zealander has taken to the European Challenge Tour with remarkable ease, not to mention success - most notably when two breakthrough top ten finished proved the catalyst for his qualifying for The Open Championship earlier this week.
The 28 year old, whose father Grant Fox won the inaugural Rugby World Cup as New Zealand’s fly-half, had played two Challenge Tour events before the AEGEAN Airlines Challenge Tour by Hartl Resort, recording top ten finishes in both.
And after tying for fifth at the Najeti Open Presented by Neuflize OBC and tenth at the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts, Fox then secured one of the most notable achievements of his career when he won a play-off at the Gailes Links Golf Course in the Final Qualifying for The Open to earn a place at St Andrews.
“It was hard to know what to expect when I first came over,” he said. “The first couple of weeks proved to myself that I could compete with these guys and then obviously qualifying for The Open changed everything really.
I'm enjoying my time here so far - my main goal is definitely to make it to The European Tour
“I’ve got no expectations for that, just go and enjoy it. It still hasn’t really had a chance to sink in yet, just a couple of days traveling and then straight out onto the golf course.
“I’m sure as the week goes on it will sink in a little bit more but I can’t quite believe it. I only set foot in Europe for the first time two weeks ago for the Najeti Open and obviously I’ve been enjoying my time here so far!
“I’ve been playing pretty good golf back home and a lot of the grasses here are similar, so I’m quite comfortable in that regard. Adrenaline probably got me through the first week and the jet lag and then I played some good golf and managed to keep it going.”
Fox may still be a fairly unfamiliar name to most European golf fans but, having made an immediate impact, he is hoping to be over here for the foreseeable future.
“My main goal would definitely be to make it to The European Tour,” he said. “I’m lucky that I should make it through to the Final Stage of Qualifying School through the PGA Tour of Australasia at the very least.
“I’ve been playing on the Australasia and the Asian Tours in the past three years – this is my fourth year as a pro.
“I went to the Australian Tour School at the end of 2011 and got through. I’ve had two wins in the last six or eight months on the Australasian Tour in a couple of the smaller events, and finished fifth on that tour last year.
“Right now it would be nice to have another couple of good events on the Challenge Tour and see if I can push for that top 15 but if not it’s good to just be getting some experience over here and I’ve been enjoying it.”
