Ryan Fox admitted to suffering a sleepless night, being racked with nerves, and having an “awful feeling” in his stomach despite starting the final day of the Ras Al Khaimah Classic with a six-shot lead – and ending it as a five-stroke winner.
The New Zealander won his second DP World Tour title after finishing on 22-under par at Al Hamra Golf Club on Sunday.
He had seen his lead shrink to two at one point in the back nine, before a composed finish left him a comfortable winner ahead of Ross Fisher, who was second on 17-under.
“Probably relief is the main emotion, as obviously it was a bit of a struggle today,” Fox said.
“Sleeping on a six shot lead, I didn’t sleep very well last night. Obviously a couple of the guys came at me early.
“I was a bit nervous, I had that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach all day but I’m very happy with how I played.
“[I played] a couple of great shots coming down the stretch and it was certainly nice walking down the last with putter in hand with so many putts to win.”
The DP World Tour has spent the past month in the UAE, with tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Dubai followed by an unprecedented fortnight in Ras Al Khaimah.
Fox himself has spent much of the past two years away from New Zealand, with the strict quarantine rules in the country making regular trips home incompatible with touring life.
He will now head back and spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel before he is able to toast his victory in person with his young family.
“I’ve got a nervous energy, my old man [New Zealand rugby great Grant Fox] is the same – he paces around on the phone - and I think I probably walked 25km today with how much I paced around the greens,” Fox said.
“That’s just me and I was definitely thinking about the family coming down the last couple of holes.
“It’s pretty big for them, they’ve got to come over to Europe every year and that’s a little bit harder with a little one now, and this win makes that a little bit easier for them to do that.
“I’m a bit disappointed I missed [young daughter] Isabel walking for the first time and I’ve got ten days in a quarantine hotel when I get home to think about that as well, but I’m very much looking forward to seeing them when I get out of the hotel in late February.”
