Ryan Fox is promising to bring the Claret Jug for comfort as he strives to pen another chapter in New Zealand golf history with a hoodoo-busting Australian Open triumph.
Less than five months after becoming the first Kiwi in 63 years to win the British Open, Fox will arrive in Melbourne bidding to become the first New Zealander to hoist the Stonehaven Cup.
Incredibly, the Australian Open trophy has landed in the hands of a Mexican, a Pole, a Scot, several South Africans and Americans and is currently in the possession of Dane Rasmus Neergard Petersen. Yet for all their sporting accomplishments, no Kiwi has saluted since the first Open was held in 1904.
"I didn't actually realise that. It would be certainly nice to break that duck. Hopefully we can give it a go," Fox said on Tuesday.
"Kingston Heath is on one of the best golf courses in the world, and one of my favourites, so I'm excited about playing it in that sense and I know my golf game is good enough to compete with the top guys in the world.
"It's going be [a case of] go out that weekend and try to make sure the golf game is there, and give yourself a chance on Sunday and kind of anything can happen from there."
Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Gene Sarazen, Greg Norman and Rory McIlroy – who will return in December off the back of consecutive Masters victories – are among the legends to have won the Open.
With a spot at Augusta now up for grabs, as well as British Open exemptions, and the tournament aligned to the PGA Tour for the first time, Fox is predicting golf's biggest names like Scotty Scheffler and company will be marking the Australian Open on their calendars in coming years.
"It's just always a tournament with such great history. If you look at who's won the Stonehaven Cup, it's pretty impressive, right? It's a who's who of golf," Fox said.
"And with everything else that's been added to it in the last little while, that's really helped grow it worldwide.
"We've been lucky enough last year and this year to play two of the best golf courses around the world. That really adds to the prestige of the event and it's definitely one that's on the lips of most guys as a, 'Hey, look, I want to come down and play this event'."
While McIlroy will likely bring his green jacket to show off to Australian fans, Fox is certain to pack the famous Claret Jug.
"I get a couple of funny looks from security and everything," he said.
"Then I tell them it's a trophy in it, and they're like, 'OK, whatever, you can bring it'.
"It's a pretty cool travelling companion."
The Open takes place from December 3-6, the week after the Australian PGA Championship at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney from November 26-29.
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