Source: Radio New Zealand
New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox plays a shot during a practice round ahead of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on April 6, 2026. AFP
New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox feels he is close to top form as he prepares to tackle the Masters after recovering from a nasty bout of kidney stones.
Fox, 39, was laid low by the agonising pain of kidney stones just before the unofficial fifth golfing major, the Players Championship, early last month, ending up in hospital rather than the golf course.
The Aucklander returned for the Houston Open in late March, but missed the cut after being three-over par for the two rounds.
“My golf is pretty close to be honest,” Fox said from Augusta, Georgia, the host city for the Masters.
“It hasn’t been perfect by any stretch.
“I was in really good form in the lead-up to the Players, then got obviously whacked by kidney stones there.
“It’s been harder to get back than I thought it would be, but I always feel like in golf you are two swings away from finding it, and two swings away from losing it, but I’m hopefully two swings away from finding it.”
He has recovered from the kidney stones episode, but recounted a painful time.
“I did not have any fun whatsoever with it, and I couldn’t pass them naturally so it lasted a little longer than I would have hoped for. I had to have a stent in and none of that was particularly pleasant.”
Fox played 13 holes with Ireland’s Shane Lowry in a practice round at Augusta National yesterday before rain intervened and says he will play nine holes every day before the tournament begins on Friday NZT.
“It’s nice coming back here again to a golf course I’ve played a few times now. It kinda makes the prep a little easier too.
He has played in the Masters twice, finishing tied for 26th in 2023 and tied for 38th in 2024. He missed out on an invitation last year, but it wasn’t a problem this year after winning his first PGA Tour event, the Myrtle Beach Classic, in South Carolina last May and following up with victory in the Canadian Open less than a month later.
He is expecting the course to play fast this weekend, with no rain forecast.
“I like hard golf courses, you have to even more precise. You have to do that anyway around here, but when it firms up you can made to look silly really really quickly if you don’t hit in the right place.”
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
