With his status on the PGA Tour all but confirmed for next year, Kiwi Ryan Fox is gearing up for a genuine tilt at his career ambition.
On Monday (NZ time), Fox's victory at the BMW PGA Championship saw him guaranteed a top-10 finish on the European Tour and saw the 36-year-old all but earn a much-coveted PGA Tour card for 2024.
Fox is currently ranked third on the European Tour, and comfortably clear in the race for a PGA Tour card, with the only players ahead of him – Rory McIlroy and John Rahm – having their own places locked in.
As well as the PGA Tour card, the European Tour standings see Fox well placed on the Race to Dubai event.
Fox finished second in the standings last year, which opened the door for him to earn his way onto the PGA Tour in 2023 - albeit in a limited capacity.
Now, Fox has his sights set on attempting to replicate the success he's had in Europe on world golf's biggest stage.
"It's been my dream to try and play on the PGA Tour for a long time," Fox told Newshub. "It's pretty cool that last week basically locks that up.
"It's a very cool opportunity, it was probably the main goal for this year to get that PGA Tour card, whether it was through the PGA Tour starts or through Europe.
"It's pretty cool to have done it in probably not that many starts here to what I could have played."
And with a handful of events played in the US already under his belt this year, Fox isn't going in cold.
This year, he was able to take part in golf's four Major tournaments, including the Masters at Augusta.
The Kiwi finished in a tie for 26th at the Masters, tied for 23rd at the PGA Championship, tied for 43rd at the US Open, and tied for 52nd at the British Open.
But now, with the chance to focus solely on the PGA Tour rather than having to switch back and forth between the European Tour, Fox is looking forward to taking it all in.
"I'll certainly give it a proper crack," he continued. "I can do it properly and if I don't enjoy it, that's on me.
"I don't do it half-arsed, like I probably have this year. There's been some amazing stuff this year.
"The Masters, getting to play those designated events, The Players [Championship], Bay Hill, I really enjoyed them.
"But there was always a lot of stuff going on in the back of my mind. Hopefully, next year, to be able to do some new stuff as well with them will be pretty cool."
All up, Monday's win at Wentworth was without question the biggest win of the Kiwi's career.
Fox pocketed $2.6 million for his win, which was his first of 2023.
But aside from the money earned, the BMW PGA Championship title means so much more because of what Fox had to overcome this year.
"The event itself is our flagship event on the DP World Tour," he explained. "It's a who's who of golf, especially European golf.
"To have my name on that list is amazing. It's been an interesting year off the golf course.
"We've had some highs with [child] number two being born and some very low lows with my father-in-law passing away. My mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer at the same time – thankfully she's doing well.
"But it's just been pretty brutal off the golf course. Everything that felt like it could go wrong off the golf course kind of has.
"It's certainly nice, the win kind of makes everything feel a bit better."
