Ryan Fox has won his first PGA Tour event with a spectacular birdie on the first playoff hole of the Myrtle Beach Classic this morning.
Fox, in a three-way playoff with Canadian Mackenzie Hughes and American Harry Higgs, sank a chip from just off the green and then watched Higgs miss a 20-foot putt and Hughes a 10-footer. The New Zealander, who celebrated with his wife and two young daughters greenside afterwards, was in the worst shape of the three heading to the green. Teeing off on the 18th hole first, his shot hit didn’t quite cut enough and the ball hit the pine trees to the left side of the fairway, settling in the rough. Higgs hit a perfect drive up the middle, while Hughes, who led the tournament until the final hole, got a huge amount of luck when he hooked his tee shot into the pines only to see the ball kick out into the middle of the fairway. It was a similar shot to the one he made in the final hole of regulation, although that one did not bounce out and he bogeyed the hole. Fox, short-sided with his approach shot, did well to put it on the fringe of the green and then watched as his long chip went in. He said afterwards he knew it would go in when the ball was still eight feet from the hole. "It means a lot," he said. "It's probably been a tough couple of seasons out here, just getting my card last year. "I haven't had a great start this year so far. I always felt like my game was good enough to compete with the best in the world and got to show it a little bit today and hopefully it kick start things for the rest of the year for me." His first place wins him a prize of $NZ1.2 million, 300 FedEx Cup points and 27.9 Official World Golf Ranking points. Fox also gets a two-year PGA Tour exemption and an invite to the 2025 PGA Championship. | 
