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'It took a lot out of me': Fox returns with reset mindset after kidney stone scare
Sport Nation •  March 26th, 2026 12:28 pm
Photo: Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire
After having to pull out of The Players Championship at the start of the month due to kidney stones, Ryan Fox is excited to be back on the links.
Speaking to Sport Nation's Scotty and Izzy, the world No. 45 isn't going out to the Houston Open to smash any course records - he's just be happy to be there.
"The expectations this week aren't overly high." Fox said. "I didn't touch a golf club for 10 days. It [kidney stones] did take a lot out of me."
Heading into The Players Championship, the Kiwi golfer was flying, placing inside the top 24 in all four tournaments he had played in.
Fox was hoping that momentum would continue, but his body said otherwise.
"I can't take this anymore, I have to go back to the hospital, I'm no good." Fox recalled telling himself.
"I wouldn't say it was a very comfortable week after that, but it was a whole lot more fun than having kidney stones."
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After missing the last two tournaments, Fox is eyeing this week as an opportunity to get some more reps in before his trip to Augusta.
"It's more about getting a hit out before the Masters to be honest.
"With not playing The Players, I kind of wanted something before the Masters. I'm not normally great after a big rest, getting to play this week was pretty important.
"Body wise I feel pretty good, just got to get the energy levels back a little bit.
"I'm sure once I get out there the competitive juices will flow and I'll be trying my hardest to be in contention come Sunday.
"But the biggest thing is getting some tournament reps in before Augusta in a couple of weeks."
The two-time winner on the PGA Tour is grateful to be in a position where he can afford to treat these tournaments as essentially a practice round.
"It's cool to be able to do those things now. It's what I dreamed of being able to do growing up, and it's funny how quickly it becomes normalised.
Ryan Fox's ongoing support home and abroad | Sport Nation
"It's more the expectation there now that I will be playing the majors, which is pretty cool and I just have to make sure I am completely ready to go."
After what was a frustrating, and painful, spell for the Kiwi, Fox is choosing to look at the new perspective this ordeal has given him.
"I've learnt that I don't like pain.
"It puts everything into perspective a little bit. When you get something like that happen, in the end your health is more important than anything else, and that was a pretty scary few days there.
"It also puts golf into perspective. It's just a tournament. I'd much rather the feeling of missing a cut than dealing with what I went through those few days.
"It's been nice to come into this week with that in mind. I don't have any expectations, it doesn't really matter too much if I play bad, and sometimes that's actually a good place to be.
"You want to hit good shots, but you don't care if you hit bad shots. I'm going to try and put myself in that place this week and put everything else into perspective."
Ryan Fox tees off on Friday, March at 2:26am (NZ time).
Listen to the full interview here:
