Ryan

Fox

The Kiwi just accepted Special Temporary Membership on the PGA TOUR and is making his course debut this week. It would have been easy to have a bit of a letdown but Fox put his foot on the gas in round one. “The sort of tight dogleg kind of heading across fairways, that’s something we get a lot in New Zealand and what I grew up playing. So I kind of enjoy this style of golf, and I sort of took the theory I was going to take the golf course on a little bit, hit driver a lot. I drove it really good today and sort of took advantage of it.” He piped nine drives over 306 yards today which is not the standard approach at this classical course but certainly worked well for him today. He gained 1.51 strokes off-the-tee and will look to keep the driver dialed in for 54 more holes.

Fox has rattled off a run of good results with notable finishes of T14 at Bay Hill, T26 at the Masters and T23 at the PGA Championship. He’s not eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs, unless he wins an event before season’s end. To earn full status for next season he’ll need to stay inside of the Top 125 FedExCup Points list and he currently finds himself at 124th with his Non-Member Points. Fox will be making his debut at Colonial Country Club this week. It’s a classical design that may mute his power a touch but Fox has proven that he’s more than just a masher.

The Kiwi is known for his length off the tee so it’s no surprise to see he gained more than stroke in that department. It was his putter that surprised today. “There were some pretty scruffy iron shots and my short game saved me. I rode a pretty hot putter today, which was nice... For the most part when I was in trouble today, I was generally in trouble in the right place and managed to get it up and down or get myself out of trouble pretty nicely.” Fox is a non-member on the PGA TOUR but could secure Special Temporary Membership with a two-way T59 or better this week. His past performances at the PGA entering the week saw him crack that number in three of four tries (T54, T27, MC, 54).

Fox battled flu-like symptoms last week at the Masters but fought through it to manage a T26 finish. He didn’t have the same luck this week, opening his Heritage debut with five pars, three bogeys, and a triple bogey (+6) before calling it quits. The Non-Member is just six FedExCup Points away from Special Temporary Membership.

The Kiwi traded seven birdies with a trio of bogeys on Sunday. “Obviously I was pretty nervy the last three holes. I didn’t hit very good shots, to be honest, down the 16th, 17th and 18th.” Nervy or not, Fox got the job done to deliver his third DP World Tour title (2019 ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth, 2022 Ras Al Khaimah Classic). The big-hitting Fox had entered the week on the heels of two missed cuts and a WD but had plenty of good form on his season-long resume. Back in the Spring, he had posted four straight podium finishes on the DP World circuit. He jumps from 47th to 25th in the OWGR with this win.

The 29-year-old Meronk had been trending toward his career-first title all season, which has included making 11 cuts in 13 starts with six top-10 finishes prior to his win. Three of those were top-five results, including a solo third at the Dutch Open and T-3 finishes at the Qatar Maters and Catalunya Championship. “It’s such a relief, to be honest,” said Meronk afterward. “I’ve been coming quite close a couple of times this year and to finally open the door is just a dream come true. That’s why we practice every day and I’m super happy.” New Zealand’s Ryan Fox finished runner-up for the third time this season, marking his seventh top-10 in 2022. Also of note Sunday at Mount Juliet Estate were three players who earned their spots at St. Andrews through the Open Qualifying Series: Scotland’s David Law, American John Catlin and Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti finished T-4 at 15-under 273 to secure their tickets to St Andrews. “It’s a dream come true,” said Law, who will make his major debut at The Open. “I chose not to go to Final Qualifying last week so I could focus on this event and so now that getting a place has happened, I’m over the moon. … Playing in front of those crowds is going to be amazing. I’ve never played a major before so do it at St Andrews for the first time will be unbelievable.” Next week will mark Zanotti’s third appearance in The Open, while Catlin will make his second consecutive event start. Meronk, Fox, Law and Zanotti are in the field for this week’s Scottish Open.

“Disappointed to come up a couple short but proud of how I played while feeling a bit under the weather on the weekend,” wrote Fox in a social media post on Sunday. The two-time DP World Tour winner was chasing his second win this season after winning the Ras al Khaimah Classic in February. On the season, he’s made 10 cuts in 12 starts with six top 10s including a win at the Ras al Khaimah Classic in February, a T-2 at the Soudal Open and a solo second at the Dutch Open, both in May. Fox is in the field this week at the DPWT’s Horizon Irish Open at Mount Juliet Estate in Kilkenny, Ireland. In five previous Irish Open appearances, he’s made two cuts and finished top five both times: solo second in 2018 and T-5 in 2017.

The 35-year-old from New Zealand arrives on the heels of six straight top 15s on the DP World Tour, kicked off by a win at The Ras Al Khaimah Classic. His lone “blemish” over that stretch is a solo 54th at the PGA Championship. Now, the big hitter will try to translate that success into this week’s U.S. Open. It will be his fourth career appearance at the event with two missed cuts and a T41 (2018) on his resume. His career-best finish in a major is a T16 at the 2019 Open Championship. It wouldn’t be too shocking if he posted a new personal best, based on his current form.

The 35-year-old Fox appeared on his way to a regulation win Sunday after he chipped in for a birdie at No. 11, holed out from 80 feet for an eagle at No. 12 and then drained a 45-footer for birdie at No. 14 to establish a three-shot lead. But things fell apart at 18, where he drove into water and missed the green with his approach. Fox duffed his fourth shot into a greenside bunker and walked off with a double-bogey seven to open the door for Perez. Fox will make his sixth Open appearance this summer at the same venue where he made his debut and finished inside the top 50 in 2015. “It was one of my big goals to tick off this year,” Fox said. “I qualified there in 2015 and absolutely loved it, and to get back for the 150th this year is a dream come true, and I’m looking forward to it.” In 10 starts this season, Fox has missed just one cut and captured the Ras al Khaimah Classic in February for his second career DPWT title. He is not listed in the field for this week’s Porsche European Open at Green Eagle Golf Courses in Hamburg, Germany.