Ryan Fox will bid to become the first player to retain a European Challenge Tour title for 12 years when he defends his Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge crown this week.
The New Zealander took a memorable wire-to-wire victory at Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil last year in only his fourth event on Europe’s top developmental tour and, if successful again in France, will succeed Daniel Vancsik, whose record has stood since he won the Abierto Telefonica in 2004.
Fox was immediately competitive on his return to the Challenge Tour this summer, carding three top ten finishes already to climb to 15th place in the Road to Oman Rankings.
The 29 year old is looking forward to playing a tournament as defending champion for the first time, and to returning to France – a country where, in four Challenge Tour appearances, he has three top ten finishes, including victory 12 months ago.
“I have very fond memories round here,” he said. “It was my first and only win on the Challenge Tour and this is actually the first time I’ve ever been able to defend my title, so I’m very excited to be back.
“I guess there’s a little bit of added pressure on me this time but it’s always nice to come back to a course you’ve done well on and have some good memories, and hopefully I can channel that more than worrying about the pressure of being defending champ.
“I can’t put my finger on why, I just enjoy being in France. I know my dad, when he toured here with the All Blacks, he said France was the only place he toured twice that he enjoyed the second time more than the first.
“It must be something in our family that we really enjoy France – maybe it’s all the pastries and the wine!”
A key to Fox’s win last year was an opening round of 62 – nine under par, the course record – and with his powerful brand of golf, he can often go on hot runs of birdie-making form.
However, even Fox acknowledges that the achievement of Nicolo Ravano at last week’s Fred Olsen Challenge de España – when the Italian made only the second 59 in the history of top level professional European golf – was something truly special.
“To shoot 59 in a tournament for most golfers is a dream, so well done to Nico, I was delighted for him last week,” he said. “My 62 last year is definitely one of my lowest in tournament golf – I’ve shot ten under a couple of times and had a 59 at home playing with some mates.
“A fast start helps but I wouldn’t say it’s a necessity – you can’t win it in the first round. It does take the pressure off on Friday, not worrying about the cut, and you can put yourself in a good position for the weekend.
“I tend to get hot sometimes and I think I did that in the first round last year – I think I was six under for my last six holes, and I can get that feeling on a golf course when I make a couple of good swings and hit a few shots close. Hopefully I can do it again this week.”
Following a dramatic conclusion to the D+D REAL Slovakia Challenge – when late back-to-back eagles catapulted him up the leaderboard – Fox qualified for this summer’s Olympic Games ahead of Mike Hendry, and he cannot wait to experience Rio 2016 next month.
“It was a nervy few days,” he said. “I had a great battle with Mike, and I’m very happy to come out on top, especially given how close it was – only two spots in the World Rankings between us I think when qualification closed that Monday.
“It was a very exciting few days for me and I’ve got a lot to look forward to coming up – it will be great going into a team environment and a very high performance environment like the Olympics, staying in the Olympic Village, so it should be a great experience all round.
“I’m feeling really good right now. It’s been nice to come back to a couple of courses I know and that I played well around last year and pick up another couple of nice results.
“I’m just trying to keep that confidence up and it was nice to be in contention two weeks in a row, in Scotland and Slovakia. I didn’t quite get it done but it’s always a good feeling to be in that position.”
Another winner of Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge, 2013 champion Brinson Paolini will tee it up this week as part of a strong field that has assembled in Normandy.
José-Filipe Lima, the winner of last month’s visit to France for the Najeti Open, returns to the Challenge Tour for the first time since also earning a spot at the Olympics to represent Portugal.
Adrien Saddier, winner of last week’s tournament in La Gomera, heads a strong French contingent, along with numbers two, three and four in the Road to Oman Rankings – Romain Langasque, Matthieu Pavon and Damien Perrier.
