With a million dollars banked in the past three weeks, his future secure for the next 18 months and feeling that he's starting to belong, Ryan Fox heads into the British Open tonight (NZ time) in a confident mood.
With finishes of sixth, fourth and fourth at the opens ofFrance, Ireland and Scotland, the Auckland golfer earned 682,282 ($1.07 million). He's secured his card on the European Tour for next year and can now focus on the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale with nothing to lose.
Fox says the arrival of his coach Marcus Wheelhouse made the difference that has propelled him towards the top echelon in Europe, where he sits 14th on the money list.
"When Marcus Wheelhouse came up about four weeks ago, I'd made a couple of cuts, but it was pretty ugly golf and we just tweaked a few things," Fox said. "Something clicked in the second round in France. I started hitting it really good, got rid of the big miss off the tee, hit my iron shots closer and saw some putts go in. It was just a little bit of everything."
That result helped Fox secure his playing rights for next season.
"Locking up the card took the pressure off immensely, so I could go out and freewheel it a little bit. It's a nice position to be in as a golfer, to have the pressure off."
It's the same with playing the Open Championship for the second time. After being almost overwhelmed at St Andrews two years ago, he's more at home playing his second major.
"I feel a bit more comfortable at this level than I did two years ago and the intimidation factor is not there. The last time, it was a nervous week. The mouth was open the whole time and the heart was racing. I'll be a bit calmer this time and enjoy myself a bit more."
Fox is prepared for the vagaries of the weather, with a stiff breeze forecast for his opening round.
"It's links golf and sometimes you can get the bad side of the draw [but] I've grown up with quite a bit of wind in New Zealand, so I don't mind playing in that."
