Ryan Fox moves into the final of North Island Stroke Play Tournament with a 10 shot lead – Golf
Ryan Fox of New Zealand is now leading the North Island Amateur Stroke Play Tournament in Auckland. The 24-year-old will be starting of the final round with a whopping 10 shot lead which he has been able to grab in his stellar performance in the previous rounds.
The young Kiwi, also a member of Whitford Park on Auckland’s eastern Bays, scored a stunning six birdies to his account. Fox is 10 shots clear to the nearest impending contender, Christchurch's Keelan Kilpatrick. A shot further back are Jonathon Ratcliffe and Fraser Wilkin, who scored 67 and 69 respectively. Fox has performed out of his league, performing gloriously well and winning laurels for New Zealand.
"I know where to hit it and I know where to miss it more than the other guys," Fox said. "I actually struggled a little on the greens today but made three two-putt birdies which helped. I want to win by as many as I can. My goal is 20-under. Earlier in the week I wanted to shoot double-digits but after getting to 10-under yesterday I thought that 20-under is possible.”
He also predicted that tomorrows round is about the right putting and he will do his best to lift the cup. In his teen years, Fox shot a 6-under for 65 for an overall lead of 16 under and won the first New Zealand title.
While the men’s Stroke Play tilted heavily in favour of Fox, the Women’s tournament being played alongside is still open for the contenders to claim the top slot. World number two Cecilia Cho and number three, Lydia Ko, are pitched in a tight battle to rise to the top. The two are now sharing a lead of 7-under par, well clear of Hanee Song with three shots.
Cho, on the other hand, pulled in four birdies for a 3-under for 69, the best score for the day. Ko scored a 1-under for 71 to share the lead with Cho at the top.
"I putted better today but I did some work on my swing and I will need to do some more on it later today as well and hope I can play better tomorrow," Cho said.
The tournament will move in the final round on Sunday with expectations of some exciting golf to come.
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