Zurich Classic of New Orleans: Ryan Fox, Garrick Higgo set for strategic second round after strong start

Garrick Higgo and Ryan Fox finished the opening round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in a tie for eighth. Photo / AP

A change in format will see Ryan Fox take on a bit more pressure in the second round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Fox and playing partner Garrick Higgo, of South Africa, made a strong start to the event, finishing the day nine-under-par in a tie for eighth. But the unique structure of the teams event will bring strategy to the fore in the second round as play switches to alternate shot (foursomes) after the opening round was contested in a best ball [four-ball] format.

That means rather than both golfers playing the hole through and just taking the better of the two scores, they instead play every second shot and must tee off every second hole.

“I think it’s the opposite of today; today you kind of take everything on, and tomorrow you’ve got to be a bit more circumspect and sort of hope one of you gets hot with the putter and he’s the guy that ends up putting a lot,” Fox said.

“We’ve got a good strategy, and hopefully it plays out well tomorrow.”

Higgo explained that strategy, saying he would be teeing off on the even holes in the second round. That would see Fox take on a little bit more of the pressure, as he tees off on three of the four par-threes.

“Foxy will have a few more par-threes, but he hits his irons a club further, so that’s already a positive,” Higgo said.

The pair made an ideal start to things early on Friday morning. Starting on the back nine at TPC Louisiana, Fox and Higgo birdied their first three holes of the day and went on to be sitting on four-under at the turn.

Things kept trending in the right direction for them, with five more birdies in the round – including on their final three holes – to have them sitting at nine-under for the day. They dropped just one shot in their round, carding a bogey on the par-three 17th.

They sat two shots behind the leaders, with the teams of Mark Hubbard and Ryan Brehm, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai and David Lipsky, and Ben Kohles and Patton Kizzire sharing the lead after the opening round.

“I played nice the whole day,” Fox said. “[Garrick] struggled a little bit at the start but came right at the end, made a few birdies when it mattered - a nice one on nine to finish.

“We said with sort of five or six holes to go if we could get to nine [under par], we’d be pretty happy, and we did that.”

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