Ryan Fox earns more than $5 million in two months

By Paul Gueorgieff, Golfer Pacific editor

May and June have been two months to remember for Ryan Fox.

The New Zealand golfer racked up two wins on the PGA Tour and three top 30s in those two months.

With them have come some very handsome payouts.

The wins came in Myrtle Beach Classic in South Carolina in May and the Canadian Open in Ontario in June.

First prize in the Myrtle Beach Classic was $US720,000 and the winner’s purse in the Canadian Open was $US1,764,000.

Add in $US115,000 for 28th in the PGA Championship in North Carolina, $US250,000 for 20th in The Memorial in Ohio and $US245,257 for 19th in the US Open in Pennsylvania.

That adds up to $US3,095,743. Convert that to New Zealand dollars and it comes to just over $5.1 million.

The money is obviously very nice but Fox would say the main reason for his purple patch of form was security.

Each of the wins guaranteed him starts on the PGA Tour through to the end of 2027 and Fox had previously said that security was the main factor in his mind.

Fox’s win in the Canadian Open came in a dramatic four-hole playoff in which he would later say he hit the shot of his life.

That came on the fourth playoff hole when he striped a three wood from 259 yards (236 metres) on the water-guarded 18th hole to within seven feet of the hole for an eagle putt.

Caption: Ryan Fox gives a fist pump after holing the winning putt on the fourth playoff hole of the Canadan Open at Caledon in Ontario last month. Photo credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Fox’s opponent Sam Burns of the United States was also on the green for two on the par five but he three-putted and Fox was left the luxury of two putts for victory which he achieved in slightly anti-dramatic circumstances.

Fox has often previously been referred to as the son of All Blacks legend Grant Fox but he has now firmly established himself as a golfer — a two-time PGA Tour winner.

He has always wanted to be a sportsman given his family background but golfer wasn’t his first choice — or even his second choice.

Fox didn’t pursue golf seriously until he was in his late teens. He said that at 18, he rarely broke 80 aside from at his home course, an age when most of his peers were onward to college golf in the United States and quickly developing a pro-ready skill set.

As a child, he was mostly focused on rugby and cricket, which was understandable considering his family’s pedigree in the sporting world. His dad Grant Fox is one of New Zealand’s greatest sportsmen who holds the record for most points scored in a rugby World Cup tournament. His grand father Merv Wallace (who passed away in 2008) was an accomplished New Zealand cricketer and test match captain.

Grant Fox spent ample time caddying for his son in his early days as a competitive golfer, helping the younger Fox fine-tune his mental game and preparation techniques.

There are plenty of differences between high-level rugby and golf, of course, but there are several similarities, too. From his dad, Fox learned to focus on perfecting the small things (as much as possible), visualising a target and staying true to a consistent work ethic.

After his victory in Canada, Fox spoke of his dad’s belief that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

“He would always drill into me, if you work hard, no matter what happens, you can always be satisfied with the result,” Fox said.

“Whether you make it or not, whether you succeed or not, you can always look back with your head held high.

“Dad made sure I understood that concept pretty early. I always wanted to be a sportsman growing up. Rugby and cricket were my two main sports, and golf came in a little bit later, but I always kept the same theory, or tried to use the same theory all the way through.”

Footnote: Fox earned another $US252,562 ($NZ426,000) when finishing 17th in the Travelers Championship in Connecticut later in June.