Ryan Fox will play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week. Photo / Getty Images
Ryan Fox will play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week. Photo / Getty Images
Ryan Fox is getting comfortable with what he has achieved.
The Kiwi golfer will be among a star-studded field at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Florida this week in an event that starts an extended run in the United States.
Over the next few weeks, he willplay some of the biggest tournaments in the sport, including the Masters at Augusta National in Georgia in a month.
Fox, who earned his invitation to the PGA Tour event as one of the top 50 golfers in the world, said while it was never easy to go on an extended period away from home, being a part of these loaded fields was a position he has become more comfortable to be in following impressive form in 2022 which saw him close out the year ranked No 28.
“It’s tough being away from home with a two-year-old at home and another one on the way pretty soon, but yeah, I feel a lot more comfortable over here than I probably have done in the past,” he said.
“I know a lot more of the guys now, I kind of feel like I’ve earned my spot here for being in the top 50. There’s no kind of imposter syndrome in that in that sense being over here. I’m looking forward to it. It’s obviously a great build-up for the Masters.
“It’s going to be pretty cool over the next six or seven weeks, and getting to play all these events and test me against the best players in the world every week.”
Fox knows he has ground to make up on a lot of the field in the upcoming events but has this week been trying to absorb as much knowledge about the course at Bay Hill as he can before teeing off on Friday morning.
Ahead of the Invitational, he has been able to spend some time with the likes of world No 1 Jon Rahm, and former winners Jason Day and Tyrrell Hatton to pick their brains for what he should expect this week.
Ryan Fox in action at the Dubai Desert Classic. Photo / AP
The feedback he got was both daunting and exciting. A tough course that is firm, fast, has long rough, and can be particularly difficult when the wind is up, Fox learned even par is a decent score across four rounds.
“If the world No 1 is saying this place is a bit of a brute and it’s a tough golf course, you know you’ve got to stand up and take notice.
“I mean, the guy’s on some kind of heater at the moment, and pretty much has been since he turned pro. So, if he’s saying it’s a tough golf course, it’s obviously going to be pretty tough.”
Earning an invitation to play in the prestigious tournament this year did mean Fox was unable to take part in the New Zealand Open at Millbrook in Queenstown, which is also happening this week.
While he wasn’t able to play in it, Fox said he would be keeping an eye on how things were shaping up on the leaderboard, hoping to see another Kiwi take it out. Only two New Zealand golfers have won the Open in the last 20 years; Mahal Pearce in 2003 and Michael Hendry in 2017.
“It’s a tournament that I’m disappointed to miss, but this is an opportunity that’s just too good to turn down, with it being one of the elevated PGA Tour events and with what’s on the line going forward.
“So yeah, I’ll definitely be following the scores down there and hoping for a Kiwi winner. We haven’t had one for a while, so that would certainly be nice.”
