New Zealand golfers Ryan Fox and Michael Hendry have the chance to create history at Royal Birkdale when they compete in the 146th Open Championship on Thursday evening.
This will be Foxs second appearance at the home of golf, while Hendry makes his long awaited major championship debut.
12.37am NZT
(1.37pm Local) Ryan Fox, Matt Kuchar, Richard Ramsay.
11.31pm NZT (12.31pm Local) Michael Hendry, Brian Harman, Martin Laird.
Live coverage on Sky Sport 4.
The Open Championship couldnt have come at a better time for Fox who has leapt to 95th in the world rankings with three consecutive top-10 finishes on the European Tours Rolex Series.
His confidence will be sky high after also lifting to 14th in the Race to Dubai standings ahead of Rory McIlroy and Henrick Stenson, so the 30-year-old will be looking to cash in on his rich vein of form at Royal Birkdale this week.
Hendrys preparation hasnt gone perfectly to plan with concerns over a recent back injury. However there has since been confirmation the world number 110 will definitely be ready to go tomorrow night.
New Zealand has three major champions with Sir Bob Charles becoming our first champion winning The Open in 1963, Michael Campbell then won the US Open in 2005 with Tiger Woods hot on his heels and finally, Lydia Ko won the Evian Championship in 2015 and the ANA Inspiration in 2016.
The door is wide open this weekend providing a huge opportunity for another Kiwi to join this prestigious group as we watch and enjoy the 146th Open Championship.
On the LPGA Tour Lydia Ko is back on the fairways and defending her Marathon Classic title this weekend.
Ko will feel at home in Sylvania after her past success, but her present form will be of concern after struggling to score well in the weekends.
What may come as a surprise to most is that Kos scoring average of 69.89 in 2017 is only a fraction higher than last season where she averaged 69.60 and won two major championships, had three runner up finishes and a made history after capturing a silver medal at the Rio Olympics.
This clearly shows that the field has caught up to Ko and things will most certainly be more challenging from here in with the strength on the LPGA Tour only growing.
The world number four tees off early Friday morning with coverage also on Sky Sport.
- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Golf NZ
Your 146th Open Championship preview
New Zealand golfers Ryan Fox and Michael Hendry have the chance to create history at Royal Birkdale when they compete in the 146th Open Championship on Thursday evening.
This will be Foxs second appearance at the home of golf, while Hendry makes his long awaited major championship debut.
12.37am NZT
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