Fox in touch after steady first round
AUCKLAND: New Zealander Ryan Fox posted a steady opening round at the PGA Championship yesterday that left him within touch of the leaders, tied for 27th.
Fox qualified for the prestigious event after a rich vein of form enabled him to claim a top10 finish at the British Masters and a secondplace finish at the Soudal Open last weekend.
The Kiwi's opening six holes were some of his best of the round as he recorded two birdies and four pars to place him firmly among the early leaders.
However, consecutive bogeys on holes seven and eight dropped him back to even overall as he entered the back nine.
Another bogey on the 11th forced Fox to find some steadiness and he did so, three straight pars setting him up to land birdies on 15 and 16 to lift him inside the top 20 on the leaderboard.
However, Fox took three shots to find the hole from a favourable position on the 18th to finish his round with a bogey and an evenpar round.
While Fox said he was satisfied overall with his opening round, those errors played on his mind as he entered the clubhouse.
‘‘I'm happy enough. I probably left a couple out there, made a couple of silly mistakes and a couple of soft bogeys, especially one on 18,’’ Fox told Newstalk ZB.
Fox said the Southern Hills course was proving to be challenging, with weather conditions only making things harder for the players.
‘‘It's tough out there . . . there's a score to be had if you play exceptionally well, but some of the best players in the world are quite a few over par, so it shows how tricky it can play.
‘‘It was hot and windy out there and it looks like we're going to get more of the same tomorrow.’’ —