Ryan Fox has claimed the maiden European Tour title of his career with a commanding win over Spain’s Adrian Otaegui in the final of the ISPS Handa Super 6 Perth tournament at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
The top 24 players advanced to the final day for the matchplay phase of the tournament with Fox winning three matches and Otaegui four before meeting in the six-hole final.
While he needed nine holes – including three trips up and back at the short knockout hole – to get past Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond in his first match, Fox needed just four to secure the biggest win of his career, conceded his par putt on the fourth hole to win 3&2.
Fox’s first win as a professional was at nearby Cottesloe Golf Club in the 2014 WA Open and he will forever have fond memories of Lake Karrinyup after breaking through for a first European Tour title.
Ranked No.85 in the world at the start of the week – and due to get married after the New Zealand Open in two weeks’ time – Fox will now inch towards the coveted top 50 in the world and the many opportunities that opens up.
Taking advantage of a first-round bye, Fox defeated Janewattananond, Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan and Irishman Paul Dunne, while Otaegui got the better of Sydney’s Daniel Gale, No.1 seed Per Langfors, local hope Min Woo Lee and Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent.
In the playoff for third Dunne edged out Vincent at the knockout hole to claim outright third.
