Might 11 – New Zealander Ryan Fox sealed his first U.S. PGA Tour title in spectacular style on Sunday with a 50-foot chip-in from the perimeter of the inexperienced to win the Myrtle Seashore Traditional and provides his spouse the proper Mom’s Day present.
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Fox celebrated along with his spouse, Anneke Ryff, and two younger daughters after the gorgeous birdie chip gained him a three-way playoff in opposition to Mackenzie Hughes and Harry Higgs and earned him a spot on the PGA Championship, which begins on Thursday.
“It’s Mother’s Day today,” Fox informed reporters. “So my wife sort of joked on Friday when I said, ‘What can I get you for Mother’s Day?’ And she goes, ‘Well, a trophy would be nice’. So I guess I lived up to my end of the bargain there.
“To have the spouse and youngsters right here is wonderful.”
With a father who played 46 times for the All Blacks and helped bring the inaugural World Cup to rugby-mad New Zealand, Fox was always going to have to produce something special in his golf career to shed the “son of” tag.
After claiming the prestigious BMW PGA Championship title in 2023 for his fourth win on the European Tour, he packed up his young family to try his luck in the United States.
“I have not transitioned most likely in addition to I might have preferred over the PGA Tour,” the 38-year-old said. “It was powerful final 12 months, I managed to simply preserve my card, and it has been a scratchy begin this 12 months as properly.
“I always, deep down, felt like I could compete with the guys out here, I just haven’t been able to put it together. And I was very happy to do it this week.”
After signing for a remaining spherical five-under-par 66, Fox earned his spot within the playoff when Hughes blew a one-stroke lead with a bogey on the 18th and Higgs was solely in a position to par the final.
“I don’t want to be pessimistic, but you kind of figure someone’s going to hole a putt on the last, that’s what normally happens,” Fox stated.
“I kind of said to my caddie, regardless of what happens, I did all I could control really well out there. I was very chuffed to get another chance.”
Fox additionally earned a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour and is hoping that certainty over his future will assist kickstart his profession stateside.
“In this game, you don’t get to win very often. You don’t get job security very often either,” he concluded.
“So it’s certainly nice to have that. And at the back of my mind, can feel like for the rest of the year, I can freewheel it a little bit. Hopefully that takes some pressure off.
“We’ll see the way it goes within the subsequent few weeks. However yeah, it is looks like a monkey off my again, that is for certain.”