Newstalk ZB's D'Arcy Waldegrave and the NZ Herald's Bonnie Jansen get together to preview the weekend's sport. Video / NZ Herald
In the lead-up to the Masters, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox was in a form slump admitting ‘golf’s pretty hard at the moment’ following a struggling start to his PGA Tour campaign in 2024.
But all his recent woes were quickly forgotten as he recorded a red-hot 31 on the front nine to hold the lead through 12 holes at the opening major of the year before carding a three-under 69 at Augusta National.
Nearing the end of the opening day Fox sits in a share of sixth place, four back from clubhouse leader Bryson DeChambeau who opened with a 65. World number one Scottie Scheffler is sole second, a shot back from DeChambeau following a 66.
Fox, part as one of the early groups off after a weather delay, birdied his first three holes to move to three-under. He then took the sole lead with a stunning eagle at the par five eighth to move to five-under.
Through 12 holes he still held a one-shot lead before finding trouble on the famed par five 13th.
Fox went into the pines on the right with his tee shot, forcing him to lay up. But his third from an uneven lie, 53 yards from the pin, saw him chip the ball well short of the green and into Rae’s Creek.
He recovered with a crafty up-and-down to walk away with a bogey, however former US Open champion DeChambeau took the lead off Fox with a birdie, followed by two more to move clear up the leaderboard.
Fox then three-putted the par three 16th for his second bogey of the day which saw him slip to a share of four at three-under. He finished with pars at the final two holes. 69 is Fox’s lowest round at Augusta, after making the cut in his debut last year with rounds of 70 and 71.
“To be honest, everything worked really well today. I drove it great, which is pretty important around here. Had a lot of decent iron shots and holed some putts. Made a couple of nice up-and-downs towards the end of the round,” Fox said after his round.
“I felt like it got really hard to pick the wind the last few holes, and I did pretty well to hang on to three-under when I didn’t really feel like I did a whole lot wrong.”
“If you’d have given me three-under without teeing off today, I certainly would have taken it.”
With a windy start to the tournament, Fox said he was able to use some experience from his four rounds at Augusta last year in the tricky conditions.
“I figured out last year that the breeze switches around a lot, and you’ve just got to wait for your time to hit, and I thought I did a good job of that, but I still got a couple wrong out there today.
“But when it’s blowing this hard and it’s gusty, especially through all the tall pines, it’s going to be hard to get everything right, but for the most part, we did a really good job of that today
Fox said the delayed start worked in his favour as he got to sleep in.
“I had my alarm set for 6:00 and woke up just before it and saw the message saying we’re delayed and went straight back to sleep. It was nice,” he added.
DeChambeau sits one clear in the clubhouse following his 65, his lowest round at the Masters. Scheffler is breathing down his neck at six-under with 2017 winner Danny Willett in a share of third at four-under.
Fox made his debut at Augusta last year, finishing tied for 27th. Over the first two rounds he is playing with 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia and American Chris Kirk.
Ryan Fox plays a shot on the first hole during the first round of the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Photo / Getty Images
The Masters got underway this morning after a two and a half hour weather delay when Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson hit the ceremonial first shots.
Most of the heavy rain expected at Augusta National missed the club, though high winds were still expected to make for a difficult day.
Those teeing off late, including Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson, were unlikely to finish before dark, which means they will have long days finishing tomorrow before playing their second rounds.
Rahm is the defending champion after rallying on a marathon Sunday to overcome Brooks Koepka last year.
