Ryan Fox makes strong start to PGA Tour’s The CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Ryan Fox on the 13th hole during the first round of The CJ Cup Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch. Photo / Getty Images

Ryan Fox will be chasing one of the modern greats of golf despite a strong opening round to The CJ Cup Bryon Nelson event in Texas today.

Fox was among the early starters at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, teeing off in the second group of the day, and shared the clubhouse lead with a five-under 66.

He started strong with four birdies and a bogey on the front nine. Fox backed that up with two more birdies on the back nine.

The Kiwi birdied all three of the par fives.

However, Dallas local and world number one Scottie Scheffler produced a stunning opening round 61 to sit five shots clear of Fox, who is in a share of 19th.

Scheffler had a chance to break 60 after carding a 29 on the front nine. He’s seeking his first win of 2025 after nine victories last year. The two-time Masters winner made his debut at the Byron Nelson event in 2014 as a 17-year-old amateur still at high school. He finished in a tie for 22nd, including an ace in his third round.

Rico Hoey of the Philippines and PGA Tour veteran and four-time winner Jhonattan Vegas are two back from Scheffler in second.

Texas seems to suit Fox, who in March had his best finish this year four hours south at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, where he was in contention going into the final round before finishing tied for 15th.

He comes into this week’s tournament sitting at No 133 on the FedEx Cup standings, while he has also fallen to No 116 on the official world golf rankings.

Fox’s Kiwi coach, Marcus Wheelhouse, has made the trip up as he looks to get his game to where it knows it can be, having been on the verge of that but not quite getting there during his season so far.

He begins his second round at 5.11am tomorrow, in a strong position to make his sixth cut of the season and push for his first top 10 of the year.