Ryan Fox returns to a happy
hunting ground in France this week looking to rediscover the form that made him
one of the top players on the European Challenge Tour last season as he tees it
up at the Najeti Open.

It is fitting that the New
Zealander is making his first appearance on this year’s Road to Oman at Aa
Saint-Omer Golf Club as this was also the venue of his maiden Challenge Tour
event 12 months ago, when he finished in an impressive tie for fifth place.

The 29 year old found
France even more to his liking a few weeks later as he won Le Vaudreuil Golf
Challenge, but this season, playing mainly on the European Tour, he has
struggled to find enough consistency in his game to put himself in contention.

Now, back in a country that
has treated him well in the past, Fox is hoping that a return to Europe’s top
developmental tour this summer can inspire him to similar heights as 2015, when
he finished 16^th in the Road to Oman Rankings.

"It’s a nice confidence
boost to be back somewhere I’ve done well before," he said. "I’ve got good
memories around here, I played some really nice golf round here last year, and
hopefully I can draw on that and put together a good tournament.

"Last year I didn’t really
know what to expect, but I never expected to do so well so early. It was not
only my first time playing here, it was my first time to Europe, at all.

"It was a bit of a surprise
to do so well, I’d been playing well at home and it was obviously nice to bring
that form over, but coming to a new environment you never quite know what to
expect and it was nice to hit the ground running.

"I really enjoyed the
French events, winning Le Vaudreuil, and I’ll certainly be back there again
this year to defend. I don’t know what suited me with France – I know my dad
[former All Blacks fly-half Grant Fox] always liked touring here when he was
playing rugby and I guess I got the same thing with golf.

"I’ve got good memories
round here, but it’s a tricky golf course – it’s one that, especially when it
starts playing firm, you get a few dodgy breaks here and there.

"The mental side of the
game is really important round here and patience, and I like to think that’s a
pretty strong part of my game – half the field has probably psyched themselves
out this week before they start and hopefully I’m not one of them."

Fox’s incredible 2015
summer included qualifying for the Open Championship at St Andrews, where he
made the cut and finished inside the top 50 after playing with Bernhard Langer
in the final round.

Mixing with the best seemed
a natural fit for the man from Auckland, but he concedes it is more his own
form than the tougher level of competition that has made it difficult for him
to make an impact on the European Tour this year.

"It’s been a little bit of
a struggle," he said. "I’ve played eight or nine events and I’ve made the
majority of my cuts but not featured on weekends.

"I’ve got a run now of six
or seven weekends in a row where I won’t get into the bigger European Tour
events so I’ll be back on the Challenge Tour.

"On the European Tour
there’s a lot of competition out there and if you’re not generally shooting low
scores you’re going backwards and unfortunately that’s what’s been happening to
me.

"It’s a step up for sure,
in terms of the depth of field and I think some of the golf courses are
tougher, but I didn’t feel out of my depth, I just struggled with my golf game.

"My putter went a bit cold
for a while and that sort of leaked into everything else. I ended up making a
lot of cuts on the number or by one, and missed a couple by that as well, and
never really got it going on the weekend.

"Winning would be nice but
I’d just like to find some form really. It’s been a bit of a struggle this year
and it would be good to be in the hunt a couple of times – if I can then get
the job done, great, if not it would be nice just to be up there shooting some
low scores."

Last year’s Najeti Open saw
a home winner as Sébastien Gros – now a European Tour player – sealed an
impressive six-shot victory, the springboard for him to finish second in the
Road to Oman Rankings.

Such has been the strong
French start to this Challenge Tour season that local crowds will be filled
with high hopes of a repeat Gallic triumph, with Romain Langasque, Matthieu
Pavon and Joël Stalter all inside the top 15, and Damien Perrier and Clément
Sordet both already tournament winners this year.Also
in the field is 2014 Najeti Open champion Jordi Garcia Pinto, while Lorenzo
Gagli and Scott Henry – both tied for third two years ago – will look to draw
on that past good form this week.