Cameron McMillan and Christopher Reive speak to Ryan Bridge about the new format of the Super Rugby Competition, Ryan Fox at the PGA and Warriors news. Video / Herald NOW
After winning the Myrtle Beach Classic for his first PGA Tour title, Ryan Fox made a business decision.
Until that point, he had been planning to line up in the final round of qualifying for the third major of the year, next week’s US Open, in an event oftenreferred to as the longest day in golf.
At 10 sites across the United States and Canada on Tuesday, golfers played 36 holes in a day as they battled for the final spots in next week’s field. That came a day after the final round of the Memorial tournament in Ohio, and a couple of days before the start of the RBC Canadian Open in Ontario.
However, after winning at Myrtle Beach, Fox instead took his chances on scoring enough world ranking points across the PGA Championship, Memorial and Canadian Open tournaments to etch his place in the US Open field.
After the first of those two events, Fox sits at No 75 in the world. The top 60 after next week’s updates make the field for the major.
“I need a really good week in Canada this week to get in, obviously, but 36 holes in a day, the day after Memorial, just felt like a bit of a stretch, to be honest,” Fox told the Herald.
“We’ll see how this week goes, but I wasn’t too disappointed to not go to US Open qualifying. Everyone that went there yesterday looked pretty beaten up today. It’s a pretty long day; they don’t call it the longest day in golf for no reason.”
“I felt like where I was in the world after Myrtle, if I had a really good week in one of those three weeks that I was playing, I could get myself high enough in the world to get in on the world rankings. This is the last shot this week, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Ryan Fox is currently ranked at No 75 in the world. Photo / Photosport
Fox sits about 13 points outside of the top 60 heading into this week and would likely need to finish in the top three to make the US Open, factoring in the results of others. It is projected that the winner will bag 48.9 world ranking points, with 29.3 for second and 19.5 for third.
The 38-year-old had a strong showing in the Canadian event last year, going into the final round in the hunt before ultimately finishing in a tie for seventh.
The event is being played at a different course this time around, with TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley hosting it this year.
Fox expected scoring could be quite low this week with the course having some “big holes, big wide fairways and some big slopey greens”.
“It’s always a good event in Canada, the crowds come out. I think because it’s a National Open, it just feels a little bit bigger than a normal event, and I’m looking forward to it this week. It looks like we’re going to get some good weather too, which is a nice change.”
While qualification for the US Open would be ideal, Fox has set his targets further afield for the rest of the year.
After a top-20 finish at the Memorial, he moved into No 60 on the FedEx Cup (PGA Tour) rankings, which puts him in a good position for the top 70 playoffs later in the year.
“I obviously need a couple more decent weeks in there, but last week at Memorial helps. Hopefully, I’ll get into the Travelers [Championship] on that Swing 5 [qualification] again; this week counts for that, so a good week will definitely get me in. But I think, regardless, I’m probably still looking reasonably good on the points list for that.
“I’ve got lots of chances. Obviously, the Scottish Open, and I’m in the British Open as well. I’ve got plenty of good events to play and lots of FedEx Cup points to play with to get myself in those playoffs, and that’s where I can really set myself up for next year, getting in that top 50.
“That’s the goal now, and guaranteeing being in all those big events for next year.”
