18 September 2023 , 12:30
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Ryan Fox and his caddie shared an emotional green-side moment after the New Zealander realised he had qualified for next year's Masters following victory at the BMW PGA Championship.
Fox secured his second DP World Tour win in less than a year, after getting his hands on the circuit's flagship event at Wentworth. As well as taking home the BMW PGA Championship crown and £1.2million in prize money, Fox also earned a spot in next year's Masters.
The 36-year-old qualified for the opening major championship of the year for the first time in 2023, and following his win in Surrey he will now be heading down Magnolia Lane for a second time come next April.
Reaching the sport's marquee event is an achievement for any professional golfer, and was over the moon when realising his Augusta invite would be in the post. Stood alongside his caddie Dean Smith, champion Fox was heard whispering: "We get to go back to Augusta next year."
And it appears his sidekick Smith has high expectations for Fox's Masters return, challenging the DP World Tour star to get his hands on the famous green jacket next Spring. "Yep, go and win it." Smith replied.
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Following his victory at Wentworth the New Zealander has shown he is more than capable of seeing off some of the world's best players, with a stellar European field in action last week. All 12 of Europe's Ryder Cup stars competed, with seven finishing inside the top-10.
Fox was able to get the better of the likes of Rory McIlroy (tied-seventh), Viktor Hovland (sixth), Tommy Fleetwood (fifth) as well as reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm (fourth). Rahm's Team Europe teammate Tyrrell Hatton finished one shot back alongside Aaron Rai after an impressive round four showing, but all fell short of the New Zealander.
Quizzed on what it was like to see off such strong competition, he said post-tournament: "I can certainly be very chuffed with when I beat down the stretch, you look at the leaderboard, Rory [McIlroy] is there, Tyrrell [Hatton] is there, Adam Scott is there, Rahm, beat those guys down the stretch is pretty incredible.
Despite defeating all 12 of Europe's Ryder Cup stars, Fox did admit he would be pledging his support behind them against Team USA in less than two weeks. "It certainly wasn't anything (focused) with The Ryder Cup," he added. "I'll be fully supporting them in a couple of weeks. It's pretty cool just coming down the stretch in a golf tournament with those names on the board having a chance, and it's even better sitting here having got it done."