New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox has rocketed into the lead of the latest European Tour event in the UAE after equalling the course record in his opening round.
Fox fired off a nine-under 63 at the Al Hamra Golf Club to hold a two-shot lead in the Ras Al Khaimah Classic.
Fox sunk five birdies in his opening nine holes of the round and continued that form into the back nine but hit a slight snag on the 17th with a bogey.
The 35-year-old recovered on the 18th though to snag a 10th birdie and extend his lead again over Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia.
Fox said the round gave him confidence, having suffered from a back injury in the build-up to the tournament.
"It was nice to get in the zone, I just felt like I had control of the golf ball," Fox says.
"I probably need to throw a couple of thanks out too, I struggled last week here with my back and I have my physio out here, and the Tour physio has helped me out over the weekend and I feel 100 per cent this week, which was nice.
"I worked hard today on just focusing on every shot, obviously my body felt a bit better today than last week, I felt like I could do what I wanted to do and I wasn't fighting it so hopefully I wake up tomorrow feeling good and I can keep doing what I'm doing."
Fox also credited South African golfer Shaun Norris for some of his play.
"Shaun was nice enough to give me a putting tip on Tuesday when we played a practice round together and that seemed to work pretty well too so big shout-out to those guys.
"I hit it in the greenside trap a couple of times and got up and down. It is the kind of golf course where you feel like you've got a lot of opportunities and it was nice to take advantage of those today and then hole a couple of longer putts on some of the tougher holes to keep the round going.
"I worked hard today on just focusing on every shot, obviously my body felt a bit better today than last week, I felt like I could do what I wanted to do and I wasn't fighting it so hopefully I wake up tomorrow feeling good and I can keep doing what I'm doing."
A win in the UAE would be Fox's first since 2019 when he earned the World Super 6 title in Perth for his 12th professional title.
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