Auckland golfer Ryan Fox is wondering if his late decision to head back to the European Tour was the right one.
Photo: Photosport Ltd 2020
A month ago Fox decided to return to the Tour in what he hoped would make 2021 a little easier for him.
Like most people 2020 was tough for Fox who decided to rejoin the tour in July and played 11 events to an effort to improve his ranking with the aim of securing a place at the Olympics.
Now in 2021 the focus is retaining his Tour card.
Last year the players had their playing status rolled over but with the 2021 schedule looking "more normal", Fox wanted to play three of the Tours' bigger events in the Middle East to make sure of keeping his card.
After the birth of his first child in December he decided he needed to travel to those events, hoping a couple of good results would boost his standing and therefore give himself a few options later in the year in terms of travel and tournaments.
Fox will travel home after the Saudi Arabia tournament this week, but has a few concerns.
"My travel arrangements have been a bit of a mess and there is a chance that if I miss any flights after Saudi Arabia then I might not get back home until May."
At this stage the European part of the Tour is scheduled to start in mid-April.
"It depends how Europe looks at that point whether I go by myself, or take my family, or not go at all, so I've got a few decisions to make."
Normally this time of the year after the Middle East, Fox would be playing in Australia, South Africa or Asia but because of Covid all of that has changed, limiting his options.
"It's a bit of a messed up schedule for us this year, however it looks like when we get back to Europe it will be normal in that sense and so hopefully Europe has sorted itself out a little bit with the vaccine and travel up there can be a little easier."
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Unfortunately his golf results so far haven't been what he wanted, missing the cut in Abu Dhabi and finishing 41st in Dubai, but he hasn't blamed that on his rushed return to the Tour.
"Obviously a little bit different with the arrival of the little one, but I still managed to get a fair bit of prep done and so I think the big thing was the lack of tournament reps."
"I hadn't played since mid-October until last week and so not playing for that long and then going into three very strong events (in the Middle East) on some tough golf courses there was a bit of rust there and no matter how well you prepare for something, getting back into tournament golf is very important and I definitely felt that in Abu Dhabi."
Fox feels he managed to shake a bit of the rust off in Dubai and is hoping everything clicks in Saudi Arabia.
"It would be nice to have a decent week (in Saudi) and take some travel for later in the year out of the equation."
"If I play well this week I take a bit of the pressure off for keeping my card for next year then it gives me a bit more time at home potentially or at least gives me a few more options around tournaments I can choose to play."
"That's probably not helping the golf at the moment feeling that extra bit of pressure than what I would normally feel this time of the year as you'd know that you've got 30 events to play."
"But for me and a few of the Aussie guys, we're stuck with travel restrictions and quarantine again like last year and it's not making it easy, so I've just got to forget about all that stuff and go out and play and try and enjoy myself and hopefully the results come."
"What I'm worried about later this year is having flights cancelled and having the family over there any maybe not being able to get back into New Zealand."
Fox is facing three months off once he returns in a weeks time, giving him a bit of time to plan his future as best he can.