Ryan Fox admits he is still basking in the glory of his BMW PGA Championship triumph as he looks to maintain his momentum at this week’s Cazoo Open de France.
The New Zealander won his fourth DP World Tour title and first on the Rolex Series at Wentworth Club last week, recovering from a triple bogey early in the final round to enter the history books as the first Kiwi winner of the event.
As a result, the victory catapulted Fox, who claimed last season’s Seve Ballesteros Award, to third on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
He now makes his fifth appearance Continental Europe’s oldest national open, having been inundated with messages of congratulations.
Reflecting on the aftermath of his momentous win at Wentworth, he said: “Obviously it was an amazing feeling on Sunday and then everything's just been crazy the last sort of 48 hours basically.
“Having the family there at the end was pretty amazing.
“I won't lie. The highlights have been on a couple of times on TV at home in the background and we watched some of the highlights on Sunday night, had a few drinks in, that was pretty cool.
“I think I was so in the moment at the time I didn't realise what was going on, so to see it back is very cool and got to maybe appreciate it a little bit more.”
"We're going back to Augusta."@ryanfoxgolfer 😅#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/lE7JZyuN4e
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 18, 2023
During the ensuing celebrations of his victory at the trophy presentation, Fox was heard telling his caddie Dean Smith “We get to back to Augusta next year.”
Fox made his debut at Augusta National in April and is in line for a return visit, due to comfortably being among the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
“I’d completely forgotten about the Augusta comment,” he said.
“I was mic’d up to be honest, and I said it to Dino (Dean Smith), but my wife didn't get to go this year.
“She was 36 weeks pregnant, so there was probably a little of me that was a little bit of me that was just wanting to get her there.
“I had a couple of mates that couldn't go as well.
“Hopefully I get to go back if the world ranking stays as they are, but to be able to get my family there and my wife and a few extra mates that felt like they missed out last year will be very cool and hopefully I can finish the year strong and make sure I stay in that top 50 at the end of the year.”
Last season, Fox won twice on Tour and finished a career-best second place on the DP World Tour’s season-long rankings.
Having combined playing on both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR this year, the 2016 European Challenge Tour graduate registered his first top 10 of the year at the Horizon Irish Open earlier this month.
He has credited the input of his swing coach Jamie Gough as being pivotal in the strides he has made in his game since the pair began working together on a weekly basis after The Open in 2021.
“We've made a couple of little tweaks swing wise, but nothing drastic,” he said.
“I don't think my swing looks probably that much different than it did a few years ago, but it's making sure I just don't get too far outside the lines every week and having someone there on a Thursday or Friday or even Sunday in the rain delay last week just to say, ‘yep, mate, looking good’, or ‘look, you look a bit quick, just slow it down’.
“I've never been very good at being self-sufficient with that kind of stuff and trying to do it through Covid.
“Having a coach at home that couldn't be on the road was pretty tough. Jamie has been a huge part of that. It was cool to be able to celebrate with him a little bit on Sunday as well. It's been a great couple of years, but that was the crowning moment really.”
Le Golf National will have the honour of hosting the Olympics next year, when golf appears on the Olympic schedule for the third consecutive time since the sport made its return in 2016.
Fox has represented New Zealand in the two last editions in Brazil and Japan, with the 36-year-old on course to do so again in next year’s Paris Games.
“This is an iconic venue on Tour, the Ryder Cup was here in 2018,” said Fox, who finished sixth on debut at Le Golf National in 2017.
“To come to this venue in the Olympics will just be fantastic. I’ve been lucky enough to do it twice now, in Rio and in Tokyo, hopefully nothing crazy happens before next year and I can come back here.
“It’ll be great knowing the golf course, I’ve played here a bunch of times, had a couple of good results as well.
“Very much looking forward to it but also very much looking forward to supporting the boys next week in Rome.
“I know I’m not a European, but I feel like a European. I know a lot of the guys really well. I’ll be sat on the couch and watching as much as I can next week which will be great.”
