Had you told Ryan Fox he’d finish the Texas Children’s Houston Open with a season-best result on the PGA Tour at the start of the week, it would’ve been a welcome note.
The Kiwi played himself into some good form coming into the tournament, and the Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston proved tough for him last year as he finished at five-over-par in a tie for 78th.
This week, Fox finished in a tie for 15th at 11-under. However, it may feel like one that got away from him down the home stretch.
Fox went into Monday’s final round in third place on the leaderboard at 12-under and playing in the final group alongside clubhouse leader Min Woo Lee and Alejandro Tosti, as he hunted his maiden PGA Tour victory.
Fox played some solid golf in the final round but missed a few good scoring opportunities early and was made to pay with three bogeys on the back nine. He finished with a one-over 71 – his worst score of the week by three shots – which saw him drop 12 spots down the leaderboard as the final round saw a lot of good golf played; Gary Woodland and Sami Valimaki both equalling the course single-round record at eight-under, while familiar suspects Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Wyndham Clark were also among the big movers of the day.