Fox leads NZ contingent at South Pacific Open

Ryan Fox will lead a six-strong Kiwi contingent at the South Pacific Open at the end of this month.

The tournament, being held in Noumea from September 26-29, provides a huge opportunity for the winner with automatic entry into the Perth Internaitonal, Australian Masters, New Zealand Open, Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship as well as a handy pay cheque and official world ranking points.

"It would be a great experience to play the bigger tournaments, to see how the world's best play, see how I compare and find out what I need to work on," said the 25-year-old Fox, son of All Black Legend Grant Fox.

"I grew up watching all the events at the end of the year and dreaming I could play them one day, hopefully it will be a realisation of those dreams." 

Fox has already experienced success earlier this year in the South Pacific region, winning the Tahiti International Open in July and the Fiji Open in June.

From Noumea, Fox plans to head to the US for PGA Tour qualifying in October.

Fox will be joined at the South Pacific Open by fellow New Zealanders Nick Gillespie, Hamish Robertson, Brad Shilton, Pieter Zwart and Josh Carmichael.

- © Fairfax NZ News