On a bright Lancashire morning Ryan Fox is leaning against the fence at the back of the Royal Birkdale range. In the background a giant screen tells the crowd that his 342-yard drive is the longest of the day, but his mind is elsewhere. He is talking about the closing scenes of the British & Irish Lions’ third Test against the All Blacks, when Ken Owens handled the ball in an offside position but the action was considered accidental. “Should have been a penalty,” Fox says, shaking his head.
So far, so Kiwi. But, in a display of magnanimity that many of his countrymen would struggle to match, Fox sees some justice — even good — in the outcome. “If I’m brutally honest I think we should have put the Lions away well before that,” he says. “But the Lions turned up to play and we weren’t as clinical as we normally are. I think it was good for world rugby.”
Fox has been a professional golfer for five years but accepts that he will have to answer as many questions about rugby as he does about golf. At least he will until his own achievements begin to match those of his father, Grant Fox, the fly half who orchestrated New Zealand’s triumph in the 1987 World Cup, won 46 caps and scored 645 international points.
It was inevitable that the younger Fox would play rugby too, and that he would wear the No 10 shirt. But he might as well have had a target on his back. Aside from dealing with others’ expectations, he had to cope with a degree of malevolent intent. “I got some attention,” he explains. “The number of times I heard, ‘Let’s smash Foxy’s kid,’ was ridiculous. I copped it a little bit but that’s all part of it. If the shoe was on the other foot I would probably be trying to do the same thing to someone else.”
Fox took his punishment but was happy to move on when his schooldays were over. “I was decent enough but never good enough to play representative rugby or anything like that,” he says. “School first XV was as high as I got. I enjoyed rugby and I’m proud of Dad’s legacy but I’m quite happy that I don’t have to try and follow in his footsteps. He was completely supportive. Whatever I wanted to do he was happy, as long as I put effort into it. He always enjoyed being involved in my golf and used to caddie for me. I’m very grateful to him for all that support.”
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Fox turned to cricket — his grandfather, Merv Wallace, had captained New Zealand — but found his enjoyment waning in the men’s ranks. By then, though, he was a two-handicap golfer and that soon became his avenue of sporting aspiration. Before long, he was playing in top amateur tournaments and winning regularly. When he won the 2011 New Zealand amateur strokeplay title he figured it was time to turn professional.
More wins followed in Australia, Fiji and New Zealand. In 2015 Fox moved to Europe and joined the second-tier Challenge Tour. Last year he had eight top-ten finishes in 13 events, including victory at the Northern Irish Open, which was enough to get him his ticket for the European Tour. Initially he made little impact at that level — his first few months brought a series of modest finishes and missed cuts — but things have taken a sharp turn for the better over the past few weeks.
Fox says: “I had been there or thereabouts most of the year without shooting decent scores, which was a bit frustrating. But then my coach [Marcus Wheelhouse, a fellow New Zealander] came over four weeks ago, the first time I had seen him in a few months, and everything clicked. My game has been really solid for the past few weeks.”
So, too, his bank balance. In quick succession Fox reeled off a sixth-place finish at the French Open, a tie for fourth at the Irish Open and another tie for fourth in Scotland a few days ago. His total winnings from those three events add up to about £600,000. Moreover, his result in Ireland meant that he secured one of the few remaining positions in the Birkdale field.
“I was very happy to get in but there was a bit of relief, too,” Fox says. “I had missed out narrowly to Aaron Baddeley at the Aussie Open, where we tied for fourth but his world ranking was better, and I had missed out by a shot the previous week in France. I played great in Ireland and the result was fantastic, but then to get the Open spot on top of that was a huge bonus.”
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The only downer that weekend was the Lions result, as the 15-15 scoreline meant a drawn series. But Fox doesn’t seem too troubled now. “I’m sure we’ll learn from it,” he smiles.
£600,000 winnings in 18 days
French Open (June 29 - July 2)
Sixth; £192,000 in prize money
Finished on seven under par, five off the lead, including two rounds of 67.
Irish Open (July 6 - July 9)
Tied fourth; £213,000
Finished 17 under, seven shots off the winner, Jon Rahm.
Scottish Open (July 13 - July 16)
Tied fourth; £198,000
Finished eight under, five shots off the winner, Rafael Cabrera-Bello.