Under the Weather Fox Targets Strong Finish

Augusta, Georgia, United States: Neither an untimely bout of flu nor unwelcoming weather conditions could prevent Ryan Fox making the cut at the 87th Masters Tournament.

The New Zealander followed an opening 70 at Augusta National with a second-round one-under 71.

With a 36-hole aggregate of three-under 141, the former Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) contestant succeeded in becoming the first player from his country to survive the half-way axe at the Masters since Danny Lee in 2016.

“I know there’s a lot of Kiwis that have travelled over for the week. It’s nice to give them someone to follow for the weekend,” said Fox, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour last year.

Although the elements continued to disrupt proceedings on Saturday, Fox maintained his serene form – and his hopers of bettering Lee’s 17th place finish seven years ago.

When the third round was officially suspended for the rest of the day at 3:15 pm local time, Fox was even-par through 11 holes.

Overall he’s in joint 14th place on three-under – 10 strokes behind pace-setting American Brooks Koepka but just six in arrears of second-placed Spaniard Jon Rahm and three behind US Amateur champion Sam Bennett, who’s currently alone in third place.

It’s been a particularly impressive effort from Masters debutant Fox, who’s been suffering with flu symptoms since the first day.

Fox, whose father Grant, an ex-All Blacks rugby player, acted as caddie during Wednesday’s Par-Three Tournament, is one of five AAC alumni to make the cut at Augusta this year.

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters winner, is currently tied for 17th at two-under (he’s one-over though 11 holes in round three), while Australian Cameron Smith is equal 23rd on one-under (he’s one-over though 13 holes in round three).

Meanwhile, Koreans Lee Kyoung-hoon and Kim Si-woo are among those in joint 28th spot at even-par overall. Kim is one-under through nine holes in round three while Lee is three-over through 10 holes.

With a two-day total of 150, Japan’s Kazuki Higa and Australian Min Woo Lee both missed the cut by three strokes.

Also making an early exit was Harrison Crowe, who earned his spot courtesy of his victory in last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Thailand.

Crowe returned to the course on Saturday with two holes of his second round to complete and bogeyed both 17 and 18 to sign off with a 77, two shots worse than his first round.

It was, nonetheless, a memorable experience for Crowe whose attention will now turn to Royal Liverpool and The Open Championship in July.