Ryan Fox mixed four birdies with two bogeys to post a two-under 68 during a frost-delayed opening round at the PGA Championship, his first appearance since pneumonia; Watch all week live on Sky Sports Golf
By Ali Stafford in Oak Hill
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox admitted he exceeded his own expectations after bouncing back from an eventful month to make an impressive start to the PGA Championship.
Fox fell ill during his Masters debut and withdrew during his first round run at RBC Heritage a week later, when the 36-year-old was diagnosed with pneumonia and took time out from the game after flying home to New Zealand. .
The three-time DP World Tour winner has also welcomed the arrival of his second daughter, Margot, in recent weeks, limiting his practice ahead of the second men’s major of the year, with Fox only returning to the United States on Sunday before Head to Oak Hill. On Monday in the morning.
Ryan Fox is two off the lead in the PGA Championship in his first appearance since suffering with phenomenal
Fox was an early starter in a frost-delayed opening round where he briefly held the outright lead before a bogey on the penultimate hole saw him post a two-under 68 and fall two shots behind the leader of the field. clubhouse Bryson DeChambeau.
“It’s been an interesting last month,” Fox said. “At the Masters I was pretty sick over the weekend. I tried to play Hilton Head, walked out after nine holes feeling really bad. I got home and they told me that I had pneumonia, which explained why I felt so bad.
“Basically, as soon as I got over that, our daughter was born, just over two weeks ago. So I had a few sleepless nights and didn’t practice much. One of the days I was supposed to go practice, Auckland flooded for the third time. time this year so I think I drove through Auckland [covering] 27 kilometers in four hours in chaos.
“It wasn’t ideal preparation for a major, but I was hoping that the fact that I needed a break after a busy start to the year and being mentally fresh would have been important this week. It’s pretty amazing to have four weeks out there and shoot 68, especially when the course is pretty brutal if you’re out of position.”
The game was delayed by one hour and 50 minutes, although Fox was unaware of the late start until he had already arrived on the field.
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“I had to see my physio at 6am and I was going to have breakfast earlier. Just as I got to the golf course I got the text,” Fox added. “I certainly would have liked another hour and some time in bed! but I can go and have a good nap!”
Hovland: ‘Boring golf’ will help compete
Fox was joined two off the pace by Norwegian Viktor Hovland, who rallied from two bogeys on his first three holes to also post a two-under 68 on par two from just seven players on the morning wave for post a round under par.
Can Viktor Hovland claim a first major title this week?
“I was very patient [on Thursday]Hovland said. “I didn’t get off to a very good start and luckily I was able to make three birdies in a row right after that. I really tried to do a good job hitting half the greens, just giving myself a lot of putts, and I felt like I did a really good job today.
“I’m still learning, but I feel like I’ve learned a lot from past experiences. [of contending]. In these tough tests I’ve been trying to push too much birdies and now I just need to try and play my game, hit the middle of the greens, pick up a couple of birdies here and there and just play boring golf.
“Hopefully Sunday is good enough to win, instead of trying to push for flags that I’m not supposed to push.”
Watch the 105th PGA Championship live all week on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Friday from 1pm on Sky Sports Golf.
