Q.  Foxy, tell us about your round, mate.  You must be pretty happy?

RYAN FOX:  Yeah, pretty happy.  I think it’s playing tougher than previous years.  The course has settled a little bit, firmer out there and you can end up in some pretty bad spots.  So I played really solid tee to green.  I got up and down on a couple of bad shots I had and made a couple putts.  I probably left a couple out there on the greens as well, but very happy with 3 under.

Q.  The start, getting away early, a couple birdies early, and is it a matter on this course of maintaining momentum or just trying to make sure the mistakes don’t creep in midway through the round?

RYAN FOX:  Yeah, it’s one of those courses that can come and bite you pretty quick.  There’s some shots around the greens, you can just miss a green and end up in a really bad spot and have a brutal up‑and‑down.  I did that a couple of times and managed to get them up and down, and that sort of keeps the momentum where it’s pretty easy almost to make a couple of bogeys and turn a decent ball‑striking round into an average score.  Thankfully, the short game kind of saved me a little bit, which hasn’t happened the last few weeks.

Q.  You and Cam don’t feel too bad about leaving Cameron behind on a few holes there?

RYAN FOX:  No.  I got him 11 and 12, so I’ll take that.  That’s two more than I expected to get for the week.

Q.  You mentioned the other day that you were considering I guess missing the event, but the Order of Merit’s important to you.  What were your expectations coming in?  I guess it’s been sort of a funny year for you?

RYAN FOX:  Yeah, it has been a bit of a funny year schedule‑wise.  Normally, the last few years this has been my time off, but the golf game’s actually felt pretty good.  Mentally, I’ve probably been in a bit of a better space than I was at this time of year the last couple years.  I was really, really (indiscernible) the last couple years.  So the Order of Merit’s that big cherry, so I would have been gutted if I didn’t play this week and someone put me by a couple of grand and I could have done something to change that.  So it was a pretty easy decision.

Q.  What events are really cherries for you when you perhaps win an Order of Merit?  What ones do you really add to your schedule?

RYAN FOX:  If I won it, I get The Open and Mexico and HSBC, WGC events, so there’s some nice bonuses there and those are the events you want to be playing in.  That’s always nice having them on a schedule early in a year so you can build around them, rather than this year I got into Mexico, but I got in on a Wednesday night and that makes it pretty tough to prepare and compete.  I’ve still got a little bit to go, but hopefully I can lock in that schedule pretty early for next year and be able to prepare properly for those big events.

Q.  Some of your peers say like your muscular driving off the tee and was it nice to play with Cam Champ and see with your own eyes how you compare length‑wise?

RYAN FOX:  Yeah.  I mean, I compared better than I expected early and then I think he stepped it up a touch later in the round, and I certainly don’t have the speed he’s got.  It was pretty impressive.  I kind of want to egg him on and see what he’s really got, but I don’t know him well enough yet, so maybe tomorrow we might get one.

Q.  Have you seen some ‑‑ as far as what he did just now?  I mean, you weren’t far behind him, but ‑‑

RYAN FOX:  Yeah, 9’s a little bit, if you get the right speed slot down there, it does go a long way.  But the one that got me was he hit his 2‑iron down four and I normally hit my 2‑iron pretty far and he had me by about 30 yards.  I sort of laughed at that and said, well, it’s pretty hard to compete with.  It was actually impressive how straight he hit it.  He didn’t hit any wide ones, but just the lack of shape.  It’s a really straight, it’s a really penetrating ball flight and you can see why he’s become a world‑class player.

Q.  Any banter to that effect between the two of you or is it wry smiles?

RYAN FOX:  No, not really.  I maybe said a couple things to Kurt, his caddie, who I know quite well.  He used to caddie for Danny.  I had a little bit of a joke, I got a couple past him, but all the par 3s he’s hitting less club than me.  That’s what I expected.  As I said, I’m glad I snuck a couple past him early, at least I can say I got to.

Q.  Quickly, too, Ryan, a lot of Kiwis at the top of the leaderboard right now.  Dave Smail and Nick Voke’s up there.  It’s a strong Kiwi contingent early on.  Do you guys sense a bit of a growing strength amongst the younger players?

RYAN FOX:  Yeah, there’s been a pretty strong contingent on the Aussie Tour for the last couple of years.  And I don’t know if you call Smailly a younger player, but Denzel Ieremia had a great start this year and obviously Nick Voke had a great year last year.  We’ve got a lot of guys coming through that are ready to win, ready to compete out here and it’s sort of a nice place to be for the Kiwis and hopefully we can get a few of them on bigger tours worldwide as well.