Golf: Young Kiwis a fairway closer to the top

Lydia Ko. Photo / AP

The sight of a New Zealand flag near the top of the leaderboard is becoming an increasingly common occurrence throughout the golfing world.

With Ryan Fox and Danny Lee raising their games and Lydia Ko dominating the LPGA Tour, Kiwi golf is in the middle of a resurgence on the global stage.

And that looks set to only continue this weekend, with Fox and Ko leading their respective events and on track to enhance what has already been an impressive season.

Having produced an excellent 49th-place finish at last weekend's Open Championship, Fox has picked up where he left off from his first major appearance.

The 28-year-old opened the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge on the European Challenge Tour with a stunning first round nine-under 62 before following up with a solid four-under in his second round.

Fox led the event at the halfway mark, sitting a shot ahead of American Connor Arendell before this morning's (NZT) third round and in a strong position to win his maiden Challenge Tour title in just his fourth start. "It's not the first time that I've been leading from the first round," Fox told the European Tour website.

Ryan Fox.

"It's happened a couple of times in Australia and New Zealand but it's definitively the first time over here.

"It's a good position to be and, as it's my last event in Europe before going back home, I hope I finish strong."

Ko will be filled with similar feelings after taking a share of the lead following the first round of the Ladies Scottish Open.

The world No2 fired a four-under 68 in her opening turn, going bogey-free to sit level with Norway's Suzann Pettersen heading into the weekend.

"I kind of didn't know what score to expect because the course is pretty tough, even without the wind," Ko said. "You can see by the scores it's not crazy low, but I think we were lucky with the wind not being as strong as it was."

The 18-year-old's efforts bode well for next weekend's Women's British Open, where Ko will attempt to break her major championship duck.

And in combination with Fox and 24-year-old Danny Lee — inactive this weekend after a first and third on the PGA Tour recently — a victory for Ko would continue an encouraging year on the fairways for New Zealand golf.

In further good news, Kiwis Tim Wilkinson and Steve Alker have also made the cut at this weekend's Canadian Open on the PGA Tour.