Another week, another fine performance by Beachlands’ Ryan Fox.
A closing 64 at the Horizon Irish Open at the weekend saw the 35-year-old set the clubhouse target at 17 under, after his round ended in frustrating fashion as he hit his approach through the 18th green on his way to a bogey at the last, europeantour.com reported.
“The shot on 18 was pretty much the only bad shot I hit today,” Fox told europeantour.com.
“Happened to be in between clubs, went for a draw and pulled it a little bit. It’s been a weird week really; shot 64 in the first round, didn’t miss a shot, and then the same today with a little bit of scrappiness in the middle.”
Polish golfer Adrian Meronk clung to a one-stroke overnight lead and played the final four holes in 4 under en route to shooting 66 at Mount Juliet Estate in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny to win his first title on the DP World Tour.
Fox, who made 22 birdies in the week, closed with 64 to grab the clubhouse lead at 17-under 271.
But Meronk tied for the lead with a 20-foot birdie putt at 15, clenched his right fist as he took the lead with a 15-foot birdie at 16, and stretched the lead to three with a 25-foot eagle putt from the fringe at 17, europeantour.com said.
Fox said on social media, “Another great week in the @irish_open is always one of my favourite events and this week didn’t disappoint. Gave it my best shot yesterday (Sunday) and enjoyed being in the mix again. Massive congrats to @adrian_meronk for his first (win) and some amazing golf down the stretch yesterday.”
Meanwhile Fox has climbed to a career-high 46th in the Official World Golf Ranking as a result of his third runner-up finish in his last six events.
He picked up €630,627.36 ($1,058,064.09) in Ireland. Fox, in his third season on the European Tour, finished third at the BMW International Open in Munich the previous weekend recording 20 under – just 2 shots off the winners – to collect €126,000.
Fox is now ranked 46th, 10 spots up from 56th after Munich. He was ranked 213th at the end of 2021 – and now sits 4th on the DP World Tour Ranking.
