Presidents Cup selection caps off Ryan Fox's banner year
Ryan Fox is finally getting his chance to compete in the Presidents Cup.
The Kiwi was one of six players to automatically qualify for the international team in the biennial event, which sees the top international players go head-to-head against the top American players.
Fox earned his place in the team as one of the top six players in the rankings after this week’s PGA Tour Championship, which was won by American Scottie Scheffler.
The 39-year-old joins Australians Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee, South Korean duo Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim, and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama as the automatic qualifiers, with another six players to join the team for the September tournament at Medinah Country Club in Illinois as captain’s selections.
Fox qualified with the third automatic spot, his bid for selection given a big boost by winning the Open Championship in July.
It’s an opportunity that has felt a long time coming for the Kiwi.
In 2022, Fox, who was yet to earn his PGA Tour card, was overlooked as a captain’s selection – with four players ranked lower than him in the standings getting the call instead.
“I felt like I was still probably on the outside looking in, not being a PGA Tour member, not playing much over here, but I still felt like I had a shot. I was pretty comfortable being inside the top 12, I think, on the list. That probably affected how I played that week big time,” Fox said of being told he had missed selection in 2022.
“I knew in ’24 I’d given myself a good start to the campaign, but my PGA Tour season in ’24 was pretty slow. I knew I wasn’t getting the pick from [captain] Mike [Weir] pretty early on. I hadn’t played well enough and definitely didn’t deserve it. But I’m glad I’m on the other side of it this year.”
Selection this time caps off a campaign to remember for Fox, who had made it clear from the start of the season that playing in the Presidents Cup was his main goal this year.
Following on from his win at The Open in July, the Kiwi earned his maiden appearance in the PGA Tour Championship – limited to just the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings – at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
Fox finished the tournament 26th, falling out of contention over his final two rounds, to earn a US$375,000 ($634,000) purse.
“I felt like I gave myself a pretty good chance the last couple,” he said of what was then an expected selection after the first round of the Atlanta tournament last week.
“I might have been a little hard done by four years ago, but yeah, I’m very excited to be a part of it this year. We’ve got a great group of guys involved, captains and players.
“All the extended group outings we’ve had and dinners and stuff like that, we all get along really, really well. I’m excited to be part of the team, and hopefully we can do something special this year.”
Automatic qualifiers for 2026 Presidents Cup teams
International
- Si Woo Kim (South Korea)
- Hideki Matsuyama (Japan)
- Ryan Fox (New Zealand)
- Tom Kim (South Korea)
- Min Woo Lee (Australia)
- Adam Scott (Australia)
United States
- Scottie Scheffler
- Cameron Young
- Wyndham Clark
- Sam Burns
- Russell Henley
- Collin Morikawa
Each team to add another six players as captain’s selections.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
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