Professional golfer Ryan Fox, from Beachlands, has narrowly missed out on winning the Irish Open for a second year in a row, finishing in a tie for third.
Fox’s spectacular third-round score of 66 (6-under) gave him a sniff of the win, lifting him from 36th place to a tie of fourth.
Heading into the final two holes of the fourth round, Fox was in a tie for second, just one shot off the lead.
But a bogey on the penultimate hole after Fox pulled his tee shot in the trees brought his chances of a fourth European Tour victory to a close.
He finished in a four-way tie for third place alongside Grant Forrest (Scotland), Shane Lowry (Ireland) and Thriston Lawrence (South Africa).
Sweeden’s Vincent Norrman won the Open with a score of 14-under after a round 4 score of 65 (7-under). He takes home US $1.02 million (NZ$1.7 million).
Fox earns US$315,000 ($535,000) for his third-place finish.
Before the tournament, Fox was ranked 46th in the world golf ranking.
At last year’s Irish Open, Fox finished second, three shots behind Polish golfer Adrian Meronk.
