The form is good and the head is in the right space — kind of.
So all Ryan Fox needs to do now is uphold an old golf motto: drive for show and putt for dough.
Fox (33) will look to grab the Brodie Breeze trophy for winning the 101st New Zealand Open this week, a tournament in which he has been in contention before but always come up short.
He has flown back from Mexico for the event — arriving yesterday morning — and knows his putter will have to do the magic to be competitive.
"I think I’m in a pretty good place and feel like everything is pretty good. It is some of the best form I have been in coming into this tournament," he said.
"But golf is a funny game. Sometimes that does not mean much."
Fox finished tied for 29th at the WGC event in Mexico, following a second at the Vic Open earlier this month.
"I feel in a lot better shape than I did at this time last year. The body is in a much better space too."
"I was pretty happy with how last week went. It is a tricky golf course for me to be honest. The balls going just an absurd distance."
The key to doing well on the two courses at the New Zealand Open was like every round in golf.
"To be honest, it is putting. You look at the scores around here over the past few years and they are up over 20-under. You don’t shoot those sort of numbers without sinking a lot of putts.
"If I play well enough then I could win ... you need a lot of things to go your way. It is a tired old cliche but I just have to go out there and let it happen."
Fox said good weather had helped in the past couple of years and his putting had been working well in recent tournaments.
Scattered showers are forecast for the next two days.
Tiger Woods’ former caddie, Steve Williams, will be on his bag, which Fox said was a bonus while wAustralian cricket great Shane Warne will be his amateur partner. Former All Black Grant Fox had teamed up with his son in recent years but will be a spectator this year.
Fox and Warne had teamed up at the Dunhill Links pro-am and Fox said Warne, who was one of his idols growing up, had been a real boost to his game.
"We get along pretty well. He is pretty competitive as well and is keen to do well this week. You can have a bit of fun with him."
Fox has been forced to move his upcoming schedule as two tournaments have been canned because of the coronavirus while a tournament in India has been added.
Fox will be in contention but the field is continuing to get better every year.
American Chan Kim has been in good form and won the Japan Open in October last year.
Young American Zach Bauchou has won the Canadian amateur championships twice recently and will be one to keep an eye on.
Others to watch are well-performed Brad Kennedy, who has been in the reckoning many times at the tournament, along with fellow Australians Jarryd Felton, Anthony Quayle and Andrew Dodt.
Other New Zealanders seeking to make a challenge are Michael Hendry, who has been in good form, while Josh Geary played well last year to finish tied for second.
James Anstiss will fly the Queenstown flag but Ben Campbell will miss the event because of a hip injury.
