Ryan Fox during the Australian Open. Photo / Photosport
Kiwi golfer Ryan Fox is officially on the way to the Masters.
The world number 28 booked his spot at Augusta following his triumph at the Alfred Dunhill Masters in Scotland last year, in which he pocketed NZ$1.46m.
He posted an image on social media last night of his official invite to the opening major of the year.
“That’s one I’ve been wanting for a long time, since before I turned pro,” he told the DP World Tour website at the end of last season.
“I guess a couple of years ago, I probably thought I was getting a bit old and it was going to be a little bit too hard.
He’s hoping to have some Kiwi support at Augusta.
“But to get it done this year is amazing and I have a few mates who are looking forward to a trip to Augusta next year, that’s for sure.”
Fox will play at Augusta for the first time as he sets his sights on all four majors. With three of them (also the PGA Championship and US Open) in the States, playing more in the US is essential to give him a better chance of success in the sport’s pinnacle events.
His high world ranking also qualifies him for the Players Championship (March 9-12) and the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill a week earlier, which carries a purse of US$20 million in the lead up to the Masters.
No Kiwi has ever won the US Masters with Frank Nobilo’s fourth placing in 1996 the best effort by a New Zealander.
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