Fox taps family pedigree to claim PGA Tour win

Ryan Fox, who broke through for his first PGA Tour win at the Myrtle Beach Classic on Sunday, comes from a line of sporting champions in his native New Zealand.

Fox's father and sometime caddie, Grant, was a leading rugby player who played 46 times for New Zealand's All Blacks, and is fourth on the career scoring list with 645 points.

He was a member of the New Zealand team that won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. He scored 126 points in that tournament, which is still a tournament record for an individual player.

Ryan Fox's maternal grandfather was Merv Wallace, a captain and later coach of the New Zealand cricket team. Wallace coached the team that achieved New Zealand's first test match victory over the West Indies in 1956.

Fox senior has spoken about the experience of following Ryan's performances at a distance, often in the small hours of the morning in New Zealand due to different time zones.

"If he's at the pointy end of the field, and there's a chance he's going to get (television) coverage, we're up," he said in a 2022 interview.

"I'm getting older now and it's getting harder to recover from that.

"But, there's live scoring and my wife follows it religiously. The phone's by the bed at night."

On Sunday, Ryan Fox was in the clubhouse at 15 under after a final-round 66, and, after Mackenzie Hughes bogeyed the 18th at the Myrtle Beach Classic in South Carolina, got into a playoff to win his first PGA Tour event.

Fox chipped in for birdie on the first playoff hole to win and secure a spot in the PGA Championship.

Fox senior said he was delighted to see his son, now 38, following his own sporting dream.

"All you want for your kids is for them to be happy and healthy and chasing their dream," he said.

"It doesn't matter how old they are you still want them to be doing that, and Ryan's doing it.

"I love the fact that he's excelling in a sport that's different from mine."

Fox is the ninth New Zealander to win on the PGA Tour.

He had won three times on the European tour, including the flagship BMW PGA Championship in 2023, and has climbed as high as No 23 in the world. But, he had yet to record a top 10 on the PGA Tour this year.

"It's very rewarding," Fox said. "I haven't transitioned probably as well as I would have liked over to the PGA Tour. It was a tough year last year. I managed to just keep my card. It's been a scratchy start this year as well. I always felt, deep down, like I could compete with the guys out here, I just haven't been able to put it together.

"I was very happy to do it this week, and to give myself a chance on Sunday was nice."

The PGA Championship was holding a spot in the field at Quail Hollow for the winner at Myrtle Beach. This will be Fox's fourth straight year playing the major. Hughes was already in the field.

The victory also gives Fox a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, and a spot in The Sentry at Kapalua to start next year's schedule.

Agencies