Ryan Fox is hoping the magic of experiencing golf’s “Disneyland” will inspire him as he celebrates a landmark moment in his career with his first appearance at the Masters Tournament.
The Kiwi earned his spot at Augusta National for the season’s opening Major Championship by finishing in the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of a hugely impressive 2022 on the DP World Tour.
Having started last year outside the top 200 in the world, Fox proceeded to win two Tour titles at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews as he finished second on the Rankings.
Those accomplishments led to him being given the Seve Ballesteros Award after being voted Player of the Year for last season by his peers.
The 36-year-old has since enjoyed a bright start to 2023, registering five top-20 finishes on both sides of the Atlantic as he gets accustomed to playing on both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR.
“I feel like this is the reward,” he said following a practice round with Tyrrell Hatton and fellow Augusta debutant Adrian Meronk.
“There was a lot of reward last year, but this is Disneyland as a golfer, right? It’s a bucket list thing to come to either watch or play in.
“Playing well last year all culminated in getting to here. That’s been a goal of mine for a long time and I’m pretty chuffed to be here to be honest.”
So far this year, Fox has already made debuts at prestigious venues Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass while he took the time to get accustomed to the challenges of Augusta between THE PLAYERS Championship and the recent WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
And Fox admits his first drive down Magnolia Lane and walking the hallowed Masters turf did not disappoint.
“There aren’t many places that you build up that exceed your expectations, and this place did,” he said.
“I got lucky, I was the guest of a member and got to stay in the clubhouse, have dinner there and do all of that. It was a surreal first experience and my first experience on the golf course, I played awful and loved every minute of it.
It’s official! Pretty cool to come home from holiday and have this in the letterbox waiting. It really is a dream come true to play my first @TheMasters #foxtracker #nevertooold pic.twitter.com/zY6csHjaUm
— Ryan Fox (@ryanfoxgolfer) January 9, 2023
“It’s the only time I’ve had when I’ve not even tried to hit a golf course, just walked around and thought ‘this is amazing’, remembered all the holes and seen that this is what it actually looks like. I found it really, really hard to actually focus on playing golf.
“I’m sure I’m not the only person that’s happened to round here, but it hasn’t happened to me much as a pro. It shows how special this place is.
“I came back the next day and had a more enjoyable day in terms of playing golf. It was hard to beat the first day, I played 18 out here, played the par three and stayed overnight. It was probably the best 24 hours I’ve had in my life. To come back the next day and get the novelty of it out of the way, it was easier to focus on playing golf.”
Fox is aiming to seek some expertise from countryman and four-time Masters-winning caddie Steve Williams ahead of the first round getting under way on Thursday.
Despite Augusta historically proving a challenging venue for first-timers, Fox is confident his game can rise to the challenge.
“If I can drive it well, it’s a golf course that fits my eye,” he said. “It’s going to be making sure I miss in the right places, don’t take too many mistakes and take advantage of the few birdie holes that there are out there.”
