THE MODERATOR: Okay, thank you everyone, welcome Ryan to India. It's your first time here. First time here at this event. What have your first impressions been?
RYAN FOX: It's been great. We've been looked at fantastically well so far, and been enjoying the food, enjoying the golf course. It's something I feel a bit different that than us. I don't have a driver in the bag this week, like a fear a chunk guys don't.
Yeah, it's a placement, control-your-ball-style golf course. Yeah, it's been fun the last couple days and obviously looking forward to the week.
THE MODERATOR: How was the pro-am? How did you find it?
RYAN FOX: It was good. Yeah, had a great group in the pro-am. Yeah, the course certainly played a little different later on in the day. The ball started going pretty far when it started to heat up, and I think the golf course is dried out pretty nicely from Monday.
So it's going to be a good test this week. Obviously, yeah, the golf course is narrow and you have to keep it in play, but the rough is brutal this week and it is starting to firm up really nicely. It's going to be tricky for us.
THE MODERATOR: Very good. Best of luck this week. Questions.
Q. You have been one the quickest players on the tour and been pretty vocal about the pace of play as well. The course situation and the layout, if you were to formulate a policy or bring in some rule, how do you assess that and make sure the pace of play is...
RYAN FOX: I mean, I think pace of play is a tough one, right? Like I obviously play fast. I always have. It's kind of frustrating when it's slow, but I also understand the fact that most of the time we're playing for a lot every week in terms of ranking points and money and everything else that comes with a golf tournament. We're playing a golf course set up as hard as it can be. Greens generally as fast as they'll ever be; the rough is up.
So it takes time and some of the decision making around shots is pretty difficult. I don't know what you can comment rules-wise. I was in the committee out on the DP World Tour for a while and we always had some pretty robust discussions on what you can do around pace of play.
It's pretty hard to have a rule that's just around common sense. It has to be written down properly because guys are complain if it's not right there next explicit.
So, yeah, I think it's one of those ones. My pet peeve is just guys not being ready when that's their turn. I don't think you can legislate that by rules. It's just a bit of education, going, hey, guys it's not hard to get your number, to have made your decision, and when it's your turn to go you can be ready to go.
There is obviously going to be some exceptions to that around a ruling or you're directly in someone's line or whatever else. But I guess, yeah, if we could have more guys ready when it's their turn that would be great. I think a lot of guys do a good job of that, but there is definitely a select few that struggle with it.
I guess it is what it is. Yeah, if everyone played as fast as me that would be nice, but I know that's not going to be the case.
Q. It's been 100 years of the Indian-New Zealand sports friendship anniversary. How exciting you see, especially coming to India on that moment?
RYAN FOX: I didn't realize that. Cool. Obviously, yeah, we've got a strong sporting history together, especially I would say with cricket. I know cricket is pretty much religion over here and it's our No. 1 sport in New Zealand and we haven't -- me personally, I certainly really enjoy my cricket and we've had some great battles against India.
Yeah, it's a cool anniversary and thanks for pointing that out.
Q. Foxy, obviously a cricket question has to be asked in India. I remember the time when you met Sachin in Dubai and you spent so much time with him asking all kind of questions. I know you were a cricketer yourself. Your father is a rugby legend. How much did you gain from speaking to somebody like Sachin, what are your thoughts on Sachin? Have you taken something from that into your general golf game?
RYAN FOX: I mean, first of all, thoughts on Sachin is he's a legend. There no other word to describe him. I mean, my family history has cricket in it as well, my grandfather played cricket for New Zealand so I grew up with it and I loved watching him bat. Technically he was amazing, and obviously to have such a long career at the level he was at was incredible.
To be honest most my discussion with him was actually about cricket and some of the technique stuff. I don't think I probably took much into golf. I just geeked out on cricket speaking to him.
I think sport's great like that. That you can have a hero from a different sport and just all I wanted to do with him was talk cricket and probably all he wanted to talk a little bit about golf with me. We talked about I use an arm lock and explained that. Yeah, it was just a nice crossover there.
He would be obviously a really interesting guy to talk to about the mental side and how he prepared and how he handled the pressure of a nation. I don't know if -- as I said earlier, cricket feels like religion over here -- to have the whole nation riding on your shoulders, on how you play and how he managed to do deal with that for so long would be quite an interesting conversation to have with him.
Q. If I can ask one more. You're such a calm and composed person. Winning The Open Championship how has life changed and what have you found the most difficult thing in these few months?
RYAN FOX: I mean, every part of life has changed. Probably don't have enough time to explain all of it. Everything has been busier. A lot more scrutiny on me. A whole lot more people know who I am now than before, and that's all good stuff.
The biggest thing overall has been time management, and that's going to be a thing going forward as well. There is a whole lot more of this kind of stuff around tournaments that I haven't had to do that much.
You know, like going back to t New Zealand I'm going to get pulled all over the place and I have to be a bit at saying no to things or I won't get any time to myself.
So that's still a bit of a learning process, but it's all good stuff, right? It's what you dream of, winning a major. You kind of know that everything is going to change with it and is going to be a lot of really great things that happen and know there will be some stuff that's going to make your life a little more difficult.
But if you're not willing to deal with all of it, probably shouldn't have been a dream in the first place. It's been a fun journey so far.
Q. Foxy, it's not really common to have so many major champions in a tournament in this part of the world. Three reigning champions, seven major champions, 13 titles between them. Do you think it's time for Asia as well as the rest of the world to have a major of its own? Between Asia and Australia and New Zealand to have something of that sort?
RYAN FOX: Yeah, I mean, I guess I'm probably a traditionalist in a sense that I see the four majors as the pinnacle, but I like the idea of trying to elevate some events around the world, and I think it's starting to happen. I think the Aussie Open has grown in stature the last few years, and I think there is certain some events in Asia that have a chance to get to that level.
Q. This one?
RYAN FOX: This one definitely. Yeah, personally I like the idea of being an international player, and I know a lot of guys that play out here and a lot of the guys that you were talking about there like playing around the world. I would say some of my peers on the PGA Tour didn't particularly like the idea of travel, so it's -- it can be hard to kind of convince them to travel overseas and elevate some events.
Yeah, I would certainly like to see -- if maybe not to the majors, but some kind of elevated international schedule, like there is a real big market for it in the Asia-Pacific region especially. That's shown. We have got the Asia-Pacific Amateur coming up in New Zealand in a couple weeks, and I played in the first one of those in 2009 and that event has gone from strength to strength, and we can do something like that at a professional level I think.
Q. Indeed. Maybe not a major, but, say, something like what the PGA Tour wants to have, a set of elevated tournaments, and if they have an international schedule of that, maybe one in Asia?
RYAN FOX: Yeah. I would 100% agree. I would say you could probably get away with more than one in Asia. There is some huge markets all through Asia, and I know golf is a really popular sport around Asia. I think they could definitely have a couple events.
If an event gets big enough, my peers in the U.S. will certainly be encouraged to travel a bit more no doubt. You talk about, again, Aussie Open I spoke about. I think Wentworth is another one over the last few years that there has been more and more Americans come over and play that because it's been talked about so fondly.
I think that's the way to get it. Word of mouth from your peers certainly makes a difference. I think we can do that.
Q. This year you won The Open Championship and you just became the third person from New Zealand to win a major. Fist of all, how was that feeling like? What confidence does it give you after winning a major heading into future tournaments?
RYAN FOX: Yeah, well, technically four because Lydia Ko has won a few on the women's side, and I grew up playing with Lydia, which was really cool to see her do that.
But from men's side, to have three of us, yeah, it's been like amazing to do it. I know Sir Bob won The Open in 1963, and to kind of walk in his footsteps there, I remember vividly when I was fist coming up playing golf, Michael Campbell won the U.S. Open in 2005. That was a huge influence on me and I'm still getting used to the fact that I'm now that person for kind of the current generation.
But, look, it's been great for the confidence. Yeah, to go out and play under that kind of pressure and execute the way I did, yeah, regardless of what happens now, I always know it's there somewhere.
Hopefully I can find it again, but even notice I felt a lot more comfortable at the Presidents Cup than I would've a couple years ago, and that's directly from that Open when I felt like I deserved to be there, I felt like I could compete with those guys.
You know, I played really well in parts that week. The same at Wentworth the week before. I played three days with Rory there, and two years ago when I did that as defending champion that was really intimidating. This year actually really enjoyed it, playing in front of that many people. That was kind of a big change for me as well.
So there has definitely been a lot of positive stuff come that Open win.
Q. Ryan, I want to follow up on that one. First of all, when we saw you win The Open Championship it was I think for every golfer who has just kept trying all their lives and then finally you winning something, you stood for that. If you --
RYAN FOX: Thank you.
Q. If you just keep trying, good things happen to you. So congratulations on that. The other thing was just the way you came back. You were nowhere in the first two rounds, but around 50th or 52nd, and then for you to come back and win it. What's that been like? At that stage where you hadn't won anything big and you end up winning The Open Championship and now like you said you feel like you deserve it or you belong right at the top. I am wondering mentally how are things for you? The pressure, yes, you're talking about it, but is there a negative side or are you just soaking in all the positivity?
RYAN FOX: Yeah, in terms of the Open, I've won a decent amount. I won a couple times on the PGA Tour. I won a bunch out here in a couple big events, so I felt like my game was always competitive against the best guys in the world but I hadn't really found it in a major.
I happened to find it that week. To know that it was competitive at that point and be able to get out of my own way mentally as well, go out there and hit shots and not worry about the size or the stature of what was the event itself.
It was, okay, I've got a chance to win and I'm going to go out and try to win. I didn't quite know I could get to that point in a major.
I don't think there's really been too many negatives since in terms of what it's done for my mental state. I guess the only thing maybe from that point of view is there is some expectation that -- and I think too, when you do it, and I don't mean this to come off the wrong way, it feels easy when you're in that moment. Like I felt really in control.
Golf is never that easy really. Like you find it a couple times a year and I think there has been some expectation after that week that all right, I can find that again, and I haven't quite found that level, so there has maybe been a little bit of frustration.
Especially the FedExCup playoffs was a little bit like that. I's come down such a high of the Open and you're got to try and climb the mountain again, and I didn't do a very good job of that in the playoffs.
But for the most part in terms of confidence and what it's done for my belief, it's all been really positive. Especially the way it happened, to go out and, as I said, feel like I was in control. To hit all the shots that I needed to under pressure I think I can take a lot from that and there won't be any negatives from any of that.
Q. Congratulations on the Open. Welcome to India. You have a very instinctive style of play and you were rewarded for that at Royal Birkdale. Delhi Golf Club is a very, very different challenge. Do you think that that instinctive side of play comes in, or do you perhaps require a more measured approach? The pace of play, quicker pace of play always rewarded or you need to slow down?
RYAN FOX: I don't think the measured approach has anything to do with pace of play. My routine is my routine and I kind of stick to that. In terms of plotting your way around the golf course I was very aggressive at Birkdale. Especially over the weekend. I hit driver a lot, but it was a golf course that kind of lended itself to that. I felt like if you hit driver on a bunch of holes you could take out a bunch of bunkers that were really bad to be in, and if you did miss a drive, if you're far enough up in the rough you could get generally something up and around the green.
This week is different to that. It is -- if you miss a tee shot, you're hitting it again basically. So there is definitely going to be a measured approach to how to play this golf course. It's going to be get it in play off the tee for the most part. I would say most guys in the field are going to take this theory. It's going to be lay it back with a -- I've got a 2-iron in the bag this week which I haven't had in the bag since The Open, so I am going to hit that off a bunch of tees this week.
Couple holes are less than that as well, and I feel like if you get yourself in play you can pick and choose where to be aggressive with the second shots. Yeah, it is a different test of golf for us this week, and it's kind of fun in that regard, that it is so different. I don't think I've ever played a tournament as a -- I don't think I've ever played a tournament where I didn't have a driver in the bag. I might've played some courses where I hit a lot of irons, but you still have a few holes where you can let loose.
For me, I feel like this week the risk of letting loose on a tee shot is not really worth the reward.
Q. You just spoke about getting into that zone maybe once or twice a year. Curious about going forward how do you deal with the pressure of expectation and will you answer that in some variation? How do you deal with the pressure of expectation? You're the exception that proves a rule that age is just a number in golf.
RYAN FOX: Yeah, most the expectation probably still comes from myself to an extent. I can't control what anyone else's expectation is of me. In the weeks after the Open I tried to use the golf course as my sanctuary in a way, that I could still control what went on on the golf course and control what I did.
It was kind of an easy escape from all the busy-ness of it. Yeah, like I think the process is kind of the same every week: You go out and you want to play as well as you can and, you just got to go out and for me it's committing to targets and sticking to my routine. If you can do that, hopefully you find it more weeks than you don't.
Like I always find it impressive that guys like Rory and Justin Rose and Scottie Scheffler and those guys, they can do it so consistently. I'm still trying to figure out how to do that. Hopefully I can find it a few times a year and be competitive when I am.
Q. We have to ask you about the Race to Dubai as well; you're No. 5; in with a shot. What are your Race to Dubai aspirations? Three tournaments, this and Abu Dhabi and DP World.
RYAN FOX: Yeah, I mean, I'm in with a shot. I would need to do something pretty incredible the next three weeks to chase down -- there is three guys that feels like they've made it a three-horse race and I know Rory is especially gunning for it this year for a piece of history.
So, yeah, I've got three chances to -- if I can eke a win out of the next three tournaments I play then I've got a chance. If not, there is still a lot to play for. I would love to consolidate and finish in the Top 5 this year. It would certainly cap off what's been an amazing year in that sense.
Yeah, I'm excited to play. I'm playing Korea next week and Dubai at the end of the year. That will be a lot of fun.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Ryan. Thank you, everyone.
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