Fox races up leaderboard with record round
Even as Kiwi Ryan Fox was unravelling on his opening round at the PGA Championship, he found the key to a spectacular round at Quail Hollow.
When play was suspended for thunder storms yesterday, Fox had signed off on a five-under-par 66 second round — one of the best scores on the newly modified North Carolina venue — good enough for one-under overall and a seven-way provisional tie for 11th.
He had also improved a nice 69 spots, safely within the cut line, following a rollercoaster one-over on the opening day that included four bogies and a double down the straight.
Fox's round was the best by a New Zealand golfer since 1995, when Michael Campbell shot a 65 at the British Open.
“It was one of those days where I got everything going,” Fox, 30, told Radio Sport’s Nigel Yalden.
“Obviously, I got my arse kicked a little bit on my back nine yesterday and it’s a pretty tough course, if you’re not on the fairway.
“I managed to find the fairway today, for the most part, and gave myself a lot of chances, and it was nice to see a few puts go in.”
Fox revealed he experimented with a different grip near the end of the first round and saw enough to change his approach on day two.
“It was just an accuracy component,” he reflected. “The golf course is an absolute brute this week.
“It’s 7600 yards, with four holes over 500 yards and par fours, so you don’t really have too much choice — you just get your driver out and hope you hit it straight.
“Yesterday, I struggled with that, but I found something on my last couple of tee shots and took that into today. I drove it a lot better, gave myself some pretty good looks and took advantage of it.”
In only his third major and his first US tournament, Fox was still adjusting to a slightly different style of course, but admitted it was one that ultimately suited him.
“It’s a little bit different . . . I haven’t played with rough as thick as this for a very long time,” he said. “It’s a penalty if you hit it in there. You’re struggling to get it near the green, let alone on the green, and it’s Bermuda grass, which is a bit different to hit out of anyway.
“Other than that, though, I quite like the style of golf — it’s long and that suits my style of game. I’ve enjoyed it so far and hopefully I’ve got two more good days of it out there.”
Twenty-seven players were due to complete their second rounds yesterday, including Americans Scott Brown and James Hahn, who were tied with Fox.
“The course was pretty wet earlier in the week and playing long,” said Fox.
“To be honest, I’d actually quite like it to play wet. The longer it plays, it works a bit better for me.”
Fox made the cut at the 2015 British Open Championship — his major debut — but missed the weekend last month in the most recent edition of the same tournament.
He has three top-10 finishes on the European Tour this year — tied fourth at both the Scottish Open and Irish Open, and sixth at the French Open.
I managed to find the fairway today, for the most part, and gave myself a lot of chances. Ryan Fox