PERTH, AUSTRALIA: New Zealand’s Ryan Fox claimed his maiden European Tour title Sunday, beating Spain’s Adrian Otaegui on the final matchplay day at the World Super 6 in Perth.
Under the tournament’s innovative rules, there were three days of stroke play, cutting the field, before the top 24 players qualified for the knockout phase.
By finishing in the top eight after the opening three rounds, Fox earned a bye through to round two of the six-hole shootout competition.
But he still had to come through 25 holes to lift the trophy at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
He beat Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond on the third shootout hole, then Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan 1up in the quarter-finals before easing past Ireland’s Paul Dunne by the same score in the semis.
It set up the final with two-time European Tour winner Otaegui. The 32-year-old jumped out into a 3up lead and victory was his when the fourth hole was halved in pars.
“It’s starting to sink in, but it still feels a bit surreal to be honest,“ said the affable Fox after the biggest win of his career.
“I just worked out I didn’t have any bogeys in the matchplay today, and played great in the final. It felt like a home crowd out there for me today.”
Fox’s win, in his 79th European Tour event, followed two close calls at the tournament.
Two years ago he failed to advance to the matchplay portion in a playoff and then 12 months ago missed out by a shot.
His victory was the first by New Zealander on the European Tour since Danny Lee won the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic as an amateur.
Dunne, who won the British Masters in 2017, beat Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent in the third-place playoff. — AFP
