By Matt Smith
It was not too long ago that a rarely seen flying Kiwi was grabbing the headlines in Ras Al Khaimah during the UAE Swing, and now Ryan Fox is doing it again on the grandest of stages at the Belfry.

The New Zealander claimed his first title in four years in February at the inaugural Ras Al Khaimah Classic on the final leg of a record-breaking four weeks of DP World Tour golf in the UAE.

Now he is seeking to outdo some of the best golfers in the world in an admittedly much stronger field at the British Masters.

Fox sits at the top of the heap alongside Thorbjorn Olesen thanks to a six-under 66 at The Belfry after the first round of the Danny Willett-hosted mega event just outside Birmingham.

Ryder Cup star Olesen set the clubhouse target after a bogey-free round on the Brabazon Course, but Fox kept him in his sights despite a late start and some soggy conditions to contend with.

The pair sit one stroke ahead of Germany’s Hurly Long, Scotsman Richie Ramsay and Ashun Wu of China, who each carded five-under 67s.

Tournament host Willett carded a one-over 73, but raised £4,000 for charity thanks to four birdies on the card, amid a field peppered with stars such as the LIV Tour-bound Lee Westwood and Richard Bland, and former US Masters champ Willett himself.

Following his late show, Fox said: “I hit it really solid, maybe one tee shot on the second which looked a little dicey but hit a lot of wedge shots close and took advantage on a couple of the hard holes on 12 and 18.

“I did everything pretty well. It was just a nice day. It’s a fun golf course to play. I grew up on this kind of grass as well. So it fits quite nicely in my head. Kind of know what it’s going to do and how it’s going to react and just went out and tried to hit a couple of shots and did that well.”

Olesen added: “I’ve had some good rounds this year and just haven’t finished it off. We’ve had a lot of rain, so it’s soft you and don’t get much roll on the fairways. So the key here is hitting the fairways.”

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The post Flying Kiwi Ryan Fox recalling spirit of Ras Al Khaimah at British Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

It’s why if you’re surprised that he’s tied for the lead after 18 holes at the PGA Championship, he certainly isn’t.

The University of Georgia grad long ago came to terms with giving up distance (he ranks 127th on tour with a 288.3 yard average) for accuracy off the tee (15th at 68.2 percent). That was the strategy on Thursday at Quail Hollow Club, where Kisner had one goal in mind: hit the fairway. From there, he could try play the four holes he considered birdie holes (Nos. 7, 8, 14 and 15) and settle for pars on the rest.

Sure enough, he birdied all four, plus the par-4 sixth and par-4 18th. Save for bogeys on the fifth and 13th holes, Kisner considered it close to a perfect afternoon, posting a four-under 67 to catch Thorbjorn Olesen for the Day 1 lead.

“I felt confident,” said Kisner, making his third start in the PGA Championship, his best finish a T-18 last year at Baltusrol. “I was hitting the driver nice starting out.”

Growing up in nearby South Carolina, Kisner has a soft spot for Bermuda greens and rough, which is why he has taken a particular liking to the revamped Quail Hollow.

“I think it’s great for the golf course,” Kisner said. “I think it makes it play more difficult. The firmness [of the greens], you’re going to be able to keep it more firm, especially this time of year. But I love putting on the surfaces. They are pure. … I just feel so comfortable, I don’t feel like I have to read it and over read it. I can stand up and put like I’ve grown up doing.”

Conventional wisdom says the change in grass has rendered Quail Hollow a bomber’s course. Kisner had to laugh when he heard that.

“I’m going to say every course we play is a bomber’s course, anymore,” Kisner joked, mindful of his skills.

What Kisner knows, however, is that length doesn’t help if your ball has settled in the gnarly Bermuda rough. “It’s brutal. I don’t care how far they hit it,” he said. So when he hit 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, plus needed only 24 putts, his 289.6 yard driving average on the day was plenty.

Kisner insists he’ll have the same plan the rest of the week: Hit fairways, try to birdie the big four and play for pars on the rest of the holes. He’ll takes his chances that come Sunday, he’ll have the last laugh on everyone.

RELATED: Winners & Losers from Day 1 at Quail Hollow

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Following a second-half slump last season, the 28-year-old has cobbled together a fine bounce-back campaign, winning the Honda Classic and posting eight top-10s in just 16 events. Better yet, Fowler clearly views Quail Hollow as friendly confines, with a victory and two other top-six finishes at the venue.

However, with Sergio Garcia claiming the green jacket, the weight of the “greatest player to never win a major” label now falls on his shoulders. And with less-than-stellar Sunday showings at Augusta National and Erin Hills, whispers are growing, justifiably or not, on Fowler’s mettle.

So when Fowler threw away his two-under start with a triple bogey at the par-4 fifth—his second shot failed to get out of a fairway bunker, and proceeded to make a mess from there—a share of contemptuous, “Here we go again” looks sprung among those following the McIlroy-Fowler-Rahm power pairing.

“I just kind of—a little mental mistake, forgot a swing cue I usually think of and missed the drive,” Fowler said after his round. “Kind of compounded from having that mistake.”

Streeter Lecka

Never mind that Quail Hollow’s fifth claimed its share of victims during Round 1, or that his day wasn’t even a third complete. When the going gets tough, his critics claim, Fowler gets going…in the other direction.

Instead, Fowler answered, and answered with force, carding birdies at the seventh and ninth to get back into red numbers.

“Just have to put that behind me and move on,” Fowler said about the fifth. “It would be nice not to have it.”

While he didn’t light the world on fire on the back, Fowler kept things steady as the course became firm and fast. He traded a bird at the 10th for a bogey at the 11th, made a three at the risk/reward 14th and navigated the Green Mile without incident. When the smoke cleared, it added up to a two-under 69, two back of leaders Kevin Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen.

RELATED: Kevin Kisner has the perfect response to all those who say Quail Hollow is a bomber’s course

“It’s good,” Fowler said. “I’ve been swinging well. I had a great week Saturday, Sunday last week at Akron.

“I feel like right now we’ve been making really good swings short, mid-iron. Just see if we can put ourselves in the short grass as much as possible so we can go ahead and do that.”

It’s foolish to say this was a defiant rebuttal to his naysayers; the Wanamaker Trophy is not won on Thursday, and history rarely remembers Round 1, washed away by weekend action.

Conversely, with a handful of major misses in his back pocket, he’s put himself in position to right those wrongs. And in a moment when that standing could have went south, Fowler not only stayed afloat; he soared.

“I just need to continue to do what we’ve been doing,” Fowler said.

If he accomplishes that, what a story it will be.

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