Fox storms to third in DP World Tour rankings
dubai: Ryan Fox has surged into the top three of the DP World Tour Rankings in partnership with Rolex ater a fantastic win at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The New Zealander started the day four shots behind overnight leader Richard Mansell, but carded a final round 68 to secure a one shot victory on 15 under par.
Now a two-time winner this season, Fox claimed a further 915 points with the title and moved from seventh to third in the season-long Rankings.
Following the triumph, the 35-year-old paid tribute to former amateur team-mate and Australian cricket great Shane Warne who passed away in March.
“It means a lot,” Fox said. “To be honest the only person I can really think of at the moment is Warne.
“He meant a lot to me and this event and was a great mate. It’s a terrible shame he’s not here.
“I’m going to enjoy celebrating this one with the family.”
Fox, who also won the Ras al Khaimah Classic in February, has put himself in strong position to become the first player from New Zealand to win the Harry Vardon Trophy.
The 35-year-old trails current leader Rory Mcilroy by 1034.6 points, but is feeling confident ater an excellent year so far.
“I guess ater the good run I had in the middle of the year, that was always the goal, to give myself a chance going into Dubai,” Fox added.
“It’s prety cool to have that. Obviously, a couple of prety good players on that Rankings list, so I’ll have to do something even more special to get ahead of those guys but just to be in the mix is prety good.”
A total of 35 players earned a rise in the Rankings following the conclusion of proceedings in St Andrews, with Sweden’s Alex Noren making the biggest jump.
The 40-year-old received 478.5 points for his share of second place, moving him from 60th to 23rd in the Rankings.
The 2018 Ryder Cup player is now in a strong position to feature at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
The top 50 players at the conclusion of the Nedbank Golf Challenge will qualify for the season finale at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Nov.17-20.
The iconic host venue will also crown the winner of the season-long Rankings, with Mcilroy stretching his lead over second placed Mathew Fitzpatrick to 998.6 points following his performance in Scotland.
The four-time Major winner challenged for the lead on Sunday following six birdies in 13 holes, but had to setle for a share of fourth place to earn 254.5 more points.