Ryan Fox admits it’s very difficult to make friends on the PGA Tour

Benefiting from one of the ten spots up for grabs on the Race to Dubai 2023 “qualifying” for the PGA Tour 2024, Ryan Fox does not have great memories of this first season across the Atlantic where individualism and the difficulty in making friends is commonplace.

Like many players who did not come from the PGA Tour and arriving in the United States from the European Tour, Ryan Foxdefending champion of the BMW PGA Championshipspoke out this Tuesday at Wentworth (England) in a press conference on the difficulties he encountered in adapting to a Circuit that he was really discovering this season as a full member thanks to one of the ten spots won at the end of 2023 via the Race to Dubai.

” It’s really difficulthe immediately breathes. It’s probably more challenging than I expected. I traveled with my family for 20 weeks straight there. I’ve been on the road for 30 weeks. When I got home after the Wyndham Championship (missed cut), I had only spent four weeks at home this year. So it was very difficult in that respect. »

I never really got into it. I had a few decent weeks without it being spectacular. I started to feel confident around May, June, July…

Ryan Fox

The 37-year-old New Zealander has not played his best golf in 2024 on the PGA Tour. While he has made the cut 13 times, he has only had three top-10 finishes, finishing 4th twice (in Zurich Classic with the South African Garrick Higgo) then to Myrtle Beach Classic and 7th in RBC Canadian Open. He nevertheless secured his card for 2025 by taking 106th place in the FedEx Cupnotably crossing the four cuts in the Majors (25th to The Open).

” We didn’t have a base camp in the States, I hadn’t gotten my visa sorted out yet. The competition seemed a lot more intense than I expected. I think last year when I played a bit there, I played some of the bigger events but I was playing really well and I started this year maybe not playing so well and I missed a few cuts but only just. I felt like I had to do a lot more to get myself in contention, let alone make the cut, and it took me a while to figure that out. I never really got into it. I had a few decent weeks that weren’t spectacular. I started to feel confident around May, June, July… »

I travel with my family, so the loneliness outside the golf course wasn’t there, but I still found it quite difficult to make friends.

Ryan Fox

During this press conference, the Kiwi, son of the All Black legend, Grant Foxtook the opportunity to mention the case of the Scot Robert MacIntyre who also went through a very difficult period of adaptation before winning the RBC Canadian at the beginning of June. The two golfers, who came from the European Tour, supported each other.

” We both struggled at first and didn’t have much funhe confesses. The week we both had our best week at that point was at Myrtle Beach where we played the first two rounds together. I think Bob said to me on the first tee: “It’s great to play with someone I can chat with a little bit and know I can like them a little bit.” Same for me. We knew each other well, we both finished in the top 10 and he got off to a good start because of that. He had a little break at home and that reinvigorated him a bit. »

” All this to say that it is difficult there. (in the United States). Everyone does their own thing. I don’t know why. I think we both struggled with it. I travel with my family, so the solitude off the golf course wasn’t there, but I still found it quite difficult to make friends. I think the Europeans have sort of banded together. It was fun to play a bit of golf with Bob and it’s pretty amazing to see what he did at the end of the season. I played with him in the third round in Canada, and we had a great time in the last group. »

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