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Lack of practice hardly a problem for Fox as New Zealander opens with a solid 68 at the PGA
PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Ryan Fox headed to Oak Hill at 5:30 a.m. to get breakfast before getting stretched in preparation for the opening round of the PGA Championship.
Just his bad luck, Fox was already at the course when he received a text that the start was delayed by frost, pushing his tee time back nearly two hours.
But that’s the way it has gone lately for the Kiwi.
He felt sick on the weekend at the Masters, tried to play at Hilton Head and withdrew after three holes to go home. Turns out he had pneumonia, which kept him home for two weeks trying to recover.
“As soon as I got over that, our daughter was born, which was just over two weeks ago now,” Fox said. “So I had a few sleepless nights and not a lot of practice.”
It doesn’t stop there.
One day he tried to practice, Auckland, New Zealand, flooded for the third time this year. He was stuck for four hours in traffic.
“It wasn’t quite the ideal preparation for a major, but I was kind of hoping the fact I needed a break after a busy start to the year and being mentally fresh would have been important this week,” he said.
It seemed to work out OK. Fox, No. 41 in the world ranking, opened with a 68.
MIXED BAG: A little over a month after a final-round collapse cost him a shot at a green jacket at Augusta National, Brooks Koepka opened the PGA with a 2-over 72.
The two-time PGA champion's score could have been a lot worse if not for some excellent scrambling, including pitching in from the rough to save par on the par-3 11th.
“That was the worst I’ve hit it in a long time,” Koepka said. “Scrambled really well. Missed a couple putts early but scrambled really well late. Yeah, that was the worst I’ve hit it in a really long time.”
WILD RIDE: Tony Finau's hot streak appeared ready to come to a grinding halt when he opened with a 6-over 41 on the front nine. Finau, a two-time winner on tour this year, responded by putting together a 4-under 31 on the back to finish at 2-over 72.
Finau's round marked just the third time in the last 30 years that a player shot plus-6 on one nine and responded by shooting minus-4 or better on the back nine, joining Ashley Hall at the 2012 British Open and Kevin Sutherland at the 2009 U.S. Open.
Xander Schauffele wasn't far behind. He opened bogey, double-bogey, bogey before getting it together. The world's fifth-ranked player fought his way back to finish at 2-over 72.
Other notables weren't quite as resilient.
World No. 1 and Masters champion Jon Rahm shot 6-over 76, his worst opening round at a major in five years. Reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick failed to record a single birdie while joining Rahm at 76.
Jason Day, coming off his first win in five years at the Byron Nelson, also didn't register a birdie while joining Rahm and Fitzpatrick at 76.
Only one player currently ranked in the Top 10 in the world finished better than even par: Scottie Scheffler.
TRAFFIC JAM: Rounds took upwards of five hours or more. While not unusual for the opening day of a major — particularly one with a 156-player field — a bottleneck around the 14th hole didn't help matters.
Many players on the tee box on the potentially driveable uphill 317-yard par-4 waited for the group ahead to give them the clearance to go for it. That led to an extended wait time of upwards of 10 minutes or so and a backlog that made for even slower going on the back nine.
“Yeah, it was a bit of a bottleneck on the course, which wasn’t ideal,” said Corey Conners, who birdied the 14th on his way to a 3-under 67. “I enjoy when things keep flowing and can play a little quicker, but it is what it is. Everybody has got the same challenge there.”
This is the second straight year the course layout led to a backup of sorts. Last May at Southern Hills the tee shot on the 13th hole required a carry over the 12th green, forcing players approaching the 12th to wait until the coast was clear.
BLOCK PARTY: Michael Block, who qualified for the tournament through the PGA Professional Championship, shot an even-par 70. The head pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California played the last seven holes in 3-under to lead the group of 20 teaching pros who made the PGA field.
"When I’m even 1-over, whether it’s at a PGA Championship or at home playing against my kids, I’m just — I need to get back (to even par), it’s just how I am," said the 46-year-old Block, who has yet to make the cut at a major in seven tries. “So I made sure that I got back to even par, and I did, and I don’t care if it’s at a major or in a skins game on Tuesday back at my home club, it’s just how I roll.”
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AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed to this report.
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