Fox returns to his family roots
New Zealand men’s golf No 1 Ryan Fox will next week be striding the fairways of Te Puke Golf Club, rather than overseas ones as he contests the NZPGA Championship.
Fox, now world No 182 after a tie for sixth in the Saudi International in February, overtook Danny Lee this week as the top Kiwi on the rankings.
Fox headlines a strong field at Te Puke Golf Club, with New Zealand tour players in strong form and three Australian tour players taking advantage of quarantine-free travel to contest the event.
European Tour regular Fox, who tied 16th the 2019 British Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, has been in top form with three consecutive wins, and two Charles Tour victories.
He won at Gulf Harbour and Muriwai, then took out the Wairakei Invitational last weekend. He set a course record of 62 in his final round on his way to winning at Gulf Harbour.
Now he is headed for Te Puke, nestled in Kiwifruit land on the eastern outskirts of
Tauranga. With the theme for the tournament around ‘‘where golf began for you’’ it’s fitting that Te Puke does have a special place for Fox.
‘‘I’m looking forward to playing Te Puke – it’s a course I played a lot growing up, my grandparents live close by and my uncle is a long-time member,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s been a few years since I played there, but I hear the course is in great condition. It’s great to have the PGA Championship being contested this year as it is an important event on the New Zealand golf calendar.’’
Fox will be looking to sign off strongly before heading back to Covid-ravaged Europe in May. He sees Te Puke as a springboard for diving back into the big events in Europe.
‘‘The form has been good the past few weeks obviously, but I will take a few days off before ironing out a few things to get ready for next week.’’
The PGA is open to women competing off slightly shorter tees, so the 2021 winner could well be called Julianne Alvarez, Darae Chung or Momoka Kobori.
Kobori, a 21-year-old Cantabrian, in January created history as the first female winner of a mixed field New Zealand PGA event.