Golf: Lydia Ko and Ryan Fox break course records on trips back to New Zealand

Kiwi golf stars Lydia Ko and Ryan Fox have both made recent trips home, breaking records at the country’s most prestigious course.

World number one for women and men
The world number 30 broke the course in the records at Tara Iti, near Mangawhai while Fox was also low on the newly opened Te Arai Links a few kilometers down the road.

Tara Iti is ranked number two in the world by Golf Digest magazine, while Te Arai Links is expected to feature on future courses having just opened in October.

Ko was in South Korea for a wedding with her husband Chung Jun last month, staying at Te Arai Links. The resort now has reservations for its 48 quarters, 19 cottages and six villas. Accommodation is within chipshot of the north and south courses, exercise facilities and one of the largest greens in the world called The Playground, all boasting views of the Little Barrier and Mokohinau Islands.

Ko a 63 from the women’s championship in Tara Iti including the hole one in three par three of the second. The two-time LPGA major winner, playing with two courses under the control of director Jim Rohrstaff, shot 29 on the front nine with his eagle shot and a run of four straight birdies. She backed him up with two birdies and a bogey on the back nine to card an eight-under round.

“Well that was fun,” Ko wrote in an Instagram story alongside a photo of himself staring at the hole in disbelief.

“Looking at the view, the amazing course and the better company thanks to you Tara Iti,” he added in another photo celebrating his time.

Fox is a member of Te Arai Ties, the logo on his bag during his career last season, which included two victories on the DP World Tour and saw him move inside the world’s top 30 for the first time.

He shot two rounds of 66 at the Te Arai South Links Course last month but saved his best for Tara Iti where he set the course record with a 10-under 61.

The previous record was 63, shot by fellow Kiwi professional Michael Hendry. The fox had eight birds and the eagle had five fifths. Kiwi for Luke Toomey holds the men’s course at Te Arai Links South Course from the tees with a 64 in December. For Amelia Garvey holds one record with 68 black tees, and late last year.

Fox, who recorded a hole-in-one at Royal Auckland on his way back home, set the benchmark when Rory McIlroy’s world number one bookends his northern season.

During the first round of the DP World Tour finals in Dubai last year, McIlroy told his playing partner Fox about his desire to go down and play the Tara Iti and Te Arai Links.

“He’s really eager to come down and play at some point. He’s got a pretty busy box that he can’t find time to time. But he’s pretty keen to come down to our end of the world and play some golf courses, which is cool,” Fox told the Herald.

“Te Arai Links is quite a bit newer, so he hasn’t heard much about him, but he definitely knew all about Tara Iti. Ric Kayne (American after the world’s most famous race) has spoken about him quite a few times, and I know Ric’s quite keen to take him down at some stage. Rory Deep is one of those guys who loves golf courses. So I think at some stage if he gets the chance he’d love to come down and play and get the whole experience and see something about New Zealand.”

The Te Arai Links South Course, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in October with the Tom Doak designed North Course opening in October this year. Once both courses are open, they will be available to the public on a pay-to-play round with members, invite members or visitors staying at the accommodation now entering the picturesque 18 holes that hug the south Mangawhai coast.

Ko returns to action later this month when she defends her Saudi Ladies International title in Saudi Arabia ahead of a full LPGA schedule. Fox returns to the UAE on the DP Tour this week at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, where he won at the same race last year.