Kiwi golfer Ryan Fox has secured his first-ever appearance at the prestigious U.S Open.
The 31-year-old held his nerve at a qualifying tournament in England on Tuesday morning (NZ time) to clinch one of the 14 spots on offer at one of the sport's major tournaments.
Fox set himself up with a sizzling first round of 65, before holding steady to finish in a tie for fifth place at the 36-hole event in Surrey.
He was forced to scramble to the tournament directly from the Italian Open, where an eighth-place finish earned him a $NZ200,000 pay cheque, in order to catch a plane to the UK.
"It's been a very hectic couple of days trying to get back from Italy," Fox told Newshub.
"I got into London about 12 o'clock last night, then 36 holes of qualifying today, but it's all gone very well…I'm very, very happy."
The Aucklander will be hoping to replicate the feats of compatriot Michael Campbell, who famously won the tournament back in 2005.
"The US Open is regarded as one of the toughest tests of all the majors. They set the courses up really hard."
This year's tournament will return to the famed Shinnecock Hills course in New York for the first time since 2004.
"[Shinnecock] is an iconic US Open venue, so I'm very excited to get the opportunity to play it."
The opening round of the championship is scheduled to get underway next Thursday (NZ time).
Newshub.
