Rugby’s loss is proving golf’s gain. If it seemed inevitable to outsiders that Ryan Fox would follow in the footsteps of his famous father, Grant, in representing the All Blacks the man himself had other ideas. Fox Sr returned 645 points from a celebrated Test career.
Ryan Fox’s ascent through the professional ranks continued last week with a play-off defeat at the Irish Open which had the reasonable consolation of earning an Open berth. In proving Fox is of no mind to rest on his laurels, the 31-year-old produced a brilliant 63 on Saturday at the Scottish Open, thereby playing himself firmly into contention for what would be a maiden European Tour win.
Fox will begin day four in a six-way tie for second and a stroke behind the surprise leader, Jens Dantorp, who sits at 13 under par.
Fox’s story is understandably fascinating. He did not play golf seriously until he was halfway through a law degree, or turn professional before his mid‑20s. Earlier, this was his fourth sport in terms of priority; rugby union, cricket and tennis took precedence.
So why not rugby as a career choice? Fox played the same on-field role as his father, fly-half. “Too many concussions,” he said. “I had a good four or five serious concussions in my careers playing rugby at school. I love rugby but in the end I caught the golf bug and I’m sure most golfers can attest to that. Once you catch the bug it’s pretty hard to think of anything else. I think it’s been a pretty good decision.”
Including, that is, for Fox’s physical condition. “I have to say it’s a lot nicer being a golfer than it was being a rugby player,” he said. “I used to hear: ‘Let’s smash Fox’s kid’ a lot, and that wasn’t overly fun especially when some of the boys you play would be 110 kilos and strong and fast. That really wasn’t fun.
“It’s been a blessing. I probably got a lot more press coverage at home, maybe a little bit of a helping hand in that regard because of who Dad was, and it’s been nice the last couple years to forge my own path a little bit. I’m very proud of what Dad did in his career, and I think he’s pretty proud of what I’m doing at the moment as well.”
Parental influence, directly linked to top‑level sport, has been pertinent. “I think there’s a lot of similarity between golf and goal kicking,” Fox said. “It’s very target‑based, very routine-based and it’s static.
“There’s not many other sports where you’ve got to try to kick a stationary ball. So I certainly learned a lot from him, maybe a lot by osmosis in terms of process, hearing him talk about what he did or how he would go about hitting a shot when I first started.”
Fox will relish his appearance in this week’s Open at Carnoustie in more ways than one. He believes his great, great, great, great grandfather is buried near the Angus town. Scottish roots are further endorsed by Fox’s mother’s family name of Wallace.
The highlight of Fox’s day three at Gullane was a converted putt from 40ft – including 15ft of break – for an eagle at the 16th.
Rock hard links conditions were emphasised by Fox booming a drive adjacent to the 18th green; 460 yards from the tee box.
“I definitely feel a bit more comfortable in the big events than I have done in the past,” he said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to play well, but at least it means you enjoy the experience a little bit more, rather than the first time I played, the first couple majors I played, they all seemed like a blur. Everything happened so fast.
“Coming from New Zealand, you don’t see the big guys very often, and to see all of them in one place, it was a bit overwhelming, really. Now it feels a bit more normal, a bit more comfortable.”
