Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Fox plays his tee shot on the 8th hole on Friday at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.

By Kent Gray
Unperturbed by a lengthy rain delay, an almost complete lack of TV time and the superstars ominously circling en-mass, Kiwi Ryan Fox quietly went about doing what Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau are supposed to be doing at this Saudi International by muscling his way to the summit of the $3.5 million European Tour event on Friday.

The 34-year-old Aucklander dodged Thursday afternoon’s challenging winds and got lucky again when he returned following Friday’s thunderstorm delay to cash in on the benign early evening conditions at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club. A pair of 65s sees the powerful New Zealander enjoy the clubhouse lead on 10-under, a score shared by Scot Stephen Gallacher who will return early Saturday to complete the final six holes of his second round.

Johnson is in a group of four players tied for third at eight-under and, with four holes of his second circuit still to complete, the world No.1 is the most pedigreed hound eyeing Fox.

The winner of the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth title in 2019 will also be keenly aware of Tommy Fleetwood (finished) and Justin Rose (thru 15) at seven-under, Tyrrell Hatton (thru 13), Tony Finau (thru 16) and Victor Hovland (finished) at minus six and even DeChambeau (thru 14) at four-under.

But Fox, the level-headed son of former All Blacks flyhalf (first five-eight in Kiwi parlance) Grant, isn’t fazed by the big names in hot pursuit.

“This is what you play golf for, to be in contention,” said Fox.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in this position so I’ll just go out and enjoy it on the weekend and see if I can keep playing how I’m playing. I know if I do, I’ve got a good chance on Sunday.”

Fox also knows he’s been fortunate to be on the opposite side of the draw to the weather that has swept through King Abdullah Economic City over the past two days, especially Friday’s rain.  Mind you, as an Aucklander, it’s not as if Fox isn’t used to a bit of the wet stuff as rare and weird as it is in the desert.

“You don’t often get two days of no wind around here, and it was nice to take advantage of that. And, you know, you get the bad side of the draw enough times, it’s nice to get the good side every now and again

“It’s been a really solid couple of days of ball-striking, and saw a few putts go in both days, which was nice. To be sitting near the top of this leaderboard is always a good thing. It’s a pretty strong field this week.”

It sure is. So how to you approach the weekend, Ryan?

“I mean, I can just control what I can control. If I go out and play well, try to see the target and make them chase me, I don’t know how many of the top 50 in the world are here this week, but it’s a lot. And there’s a reason they’re there. They’re world-class players.

“I certainly hope to be there one day. And if I can play well this week, then it’s a step forward in that direction. If not, it’s just good experience and a nice finish to my desert swing because I don’t really know when I’m going to come back out here again.”

Fox isn’t kidding. As much as he hopes to be in the final group/s Sunday, he’s also mindful of making a Dubai connection to Auckland so he doesn’t miss out on his booked spot in managed isolation back in his mostly COVID-free homeland. That long haul home, the resulting 14-days in a poky quarantine hotel afterwards and career uncertainty on-going will be a lot more palatable if Fox can kick on to a second European Tour title on Sunday.