Campbell charts new course
Ryan Fox couldn’t hide the jet-lag if he tried.
Having barely stepped off the plane from a whirlwind trip to Central America for the WGCMexico Championship, the topranked Kiwi golfer fronted media on the eve of the 100th New Zealand Open, starting in Arrowtown today.
Unsurprisingly, Fox appeared a little dazed, and felt it was only a matter of time before the rigours of his lengthy journey from Mexico hit him.
Including a three-hour transit in San Francisco, Fox spent almost 22 hours travelling to Queenstown, where he arrived less than 24 hours before he tees off at Millbrook at 7.57am today.
‘‘I got a lot of sleep on the plane, I got eight hours on the plane home, so hopefully that helped. Hopefully with an early tee-time, with me being somewhat still on Mexico time, might help out a little bit, and sleep in on Friday and hopefully I’ll feel better by the weekend,’’ Fox said.
Ranked 68th in the world, Fox said he never considered pulling the pin on his national open.
‘‘I was always coming back for this week,’’ Fox said. ‘‘It was probably a tougher decision to go [to Mexico] last week. But considering where I was on the world rankings, it was worth the
gamble to potentially get into Augusta [for the Masters].’’
Fox, who recorded his maiden European Tour win by claiming the World Super 6 in Perth the previous week, finished in a share of 67th in Mexico. While a hectic travel schedule has him feeling the pinch, he isn’t about to use it as an excuse. Nor should he, given fellow Kiwi Michael Hendry won the tournament in 2017, after returning from the WGCMexico Championship.
‘‘Arriving on a Wednesday probably de-cluttered my week, if anything,’’ Fox said. ‘‘I imagine I probably would have had a few of these [press conferences] to do, and a few other things going on.
‘‘I landed in Auckland at 5.45am, got down here at 9.40am, had a shower at Millbrook, came over here and went straight to the range,’’ Fox said.
This year’s event marks Fox’s 11th tilt at the Brodie Breeze Trophy, and eighth as a pro. It has been held in Arrowtown since 2014.
It’s a far cry from Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico, a course almost 2500 metres above sea level – something Fox hadn’t experienced before.
‘‘I don’t think I got a club right all week,’’ Fox said. ‘‘It just sort of felt like I was guessing where the ball was landing. In the end, it felt like I couldn’t trust it.’’
Steve Williams, Tiger Woods’ former Kiwi caddie, will carry Fox’s bags at the event.
Fox, the pre-tournament favourite each of the past few years, missed the cut last year.
He’s the $11 favourite at the TAB to win it this year, and maintains doing so would be ‘‘right up there’’ with winning a major.
‘‘I’ve been lucky enough to be the highest ranked [Kiwi] the last couple of times, and not quite lived up to those expectations. So hopefully I can do a little better this year.’’
This year’s 152-strong field includes three major winners – Kiwi Michael Campbell, Australian Geoff Ogilvy and South Korean YE Yang.