Golf: Ryan Fox in contention for first PGA Tour win after wild round; Dame Lydia Ko eyes top-10 LPGA finish

Ryan Fox carded nine birdies and six bogeys for a three-under-par third round at the Myrtle Beach Classic. Photo / AFP

Carding six bogeys in a round isn’t generally best practice for getting yourself into contention to win a golf tournament.

But when you’re also counting nine birdies, things level out in your favour.

It was unconventional, but that’s how Ryan Fox played himself into a tie for fourth in his third round at the Myrtle Beach Classic in South Carolina, setting himself up to challenge for the win in his final round.

A three-under-par 68 day saw Fox jump five places up the leaderboard to sit at 10-under for the tournament and three shots back from American leader Carson Young.

Fox started the day with five birdies and a bogey through six holes, before a par on the seventh and a run of three straight bogeys.

Through his final eight holes, Fox carded four birdies and two bogeys before closing out the round with just his second and third pars of the day.

“I’m not sure I would have believed you, to be honest. Sixty-eight I would have taken. It was obviously a tricky day out there. The wind was up early and we got rain [on] probably the last eight holes,” Fox said.

“To be honest, I felt bipolar on the greens today. If I had a birdie putt, it looked like it had a chance of going in, and if I had a par putt, I was straight out of it and walking to tap the next one in.

“Yeah, it was a strange, strange day. But happy I didn’t play my way out of the tournament making six bogeys.”

Fox goes into the final day of a tournament in contention for the second time this season and a win would see him secure a late spot in next week’s PGA Championship, the second major of the season.

As it stands, Fox has not qualified to compete in that tournament, but two spots are held for the winners of this week’s events – one for Myrtle Beach and another for the Truist Championship signature event in Pennsylvania.

It’s the second year in a row that Fox has found some success at Myrtle Beach. In 2024, he finished the tournament in a tie for fourth with a tournament score of 15-under.

“I’ve got a chance tomorrow, so that’s all you can hope for going into Sunday [local time],” he said.

“I think it’s probably a little weather-dependent. I know we’re going to get some in the morning. This golf course definitely gives up some birdies when conditions allow it, but if the wind gets up, the greens firm up a little bit. It gets tricky pretty quickly.

“I think tomorrow, it’s kind of pick your moments to be aggressive. You do have lots of wedges in here. The par-fives are all gettable. But if you’re out of position, you’ve got to take your medicine and try to scramble a par. That’s the theory tomorrow; just sort of take it on for the most part.”

On the LPGA Tour, Dame Lydia Ko is in line for a top-10 finish at the Mizuho Americas Open, finishing with a two-under 70 to improve to seven-under for the tournament with a round to play.

Not quite as eventful as day as Fox’s round, Ko mixed five birdies and three bogeys to card a 70 for the second round in a row.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.