Australian Open: Ryan Fox, Daniel Hillier finish six-under to lead Kiwi charge on packed leaderboard in Melbourne

Friday, 5 December 2025

Ryan Fox of New Zealand shot 65 and 71 in his opening two rounds at Royal Melbourne.

Ryan Fox felt like he couldn’t get near the pin and left plenty of shots out on the unforgiving Royal Melbourne course.

Daniel Hillier felt flat for most of Friday after a sleepless night, before a late rush of four birdies in his last five holes.

Between them they battled through a challenging second round to remain in contention to become the first New Zealand winner in the 121-year history of the Australian Open at the halfway point.

Fox and Hillier will tee off in their third rounds on Saturday both at six-under-par, just three shots off the pace in what looks anyone’s tournament with some big names lurking.

Local hope Min Woo Lee had a second round of 65 on Friday to sit tied for third.

Daniel Rodrigues of Portugal (64) and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark (66) were the Friday pace-setters to be nine-under after 36 holes, while big local hope Min Woo Lee - ranked 42 in the world to Fox’s 41 - stormed home with a 65 to be one shot further back at eight-under. Two more Aussie guns, Adam Scott and Cam Smith, both sit seven-under.

World No 2 Rory McIlroy finished birdie-birdie to card a 68 and sit two-under, still not out of it.

In tougher, windier conditions on Thursday, Fox flew out of the blocks to co-lead with a six-under 65, but after a 7.05am (local time) second round tee time off the 10th he wasn’t feeling it.

“After yesterday it was always going to be hard to back up a round like that. It was obviously a lot easier today. I had one of those days where I was always in between clubs, and they had the pins a bit tougher today than they did yesterday,” said Fox.

“I felt like I couldn’t get close to the hole and didn’t putt as well as yesterday. Overall not a bad day but I felt like I left a few out there.”

Fox was two-over for his second round before he hit an eight-iron to 20 feet and drained the eagle putt on 14. “That was the only putt I holed for the day… I gave myself plenty of chances the rest of the back nine and didn’t make anything.”

Another bogey then a solitary birdie left Fox signing for an even-par 71, still in the fight for the weekend when crowds will swell at a course he labelled one of the world’s best.

Like Fox, Hillier said he felt the love from the Australian galleries which lifted him late after he struggled to get going. Having opened with a three-under 68, Hillier had 11 straight pars then a bogey, before he holed some putts and finished 2, 3, 3 to replicate his 68 from day one.

“I was pretty flat for most of it and didn’t feel great for the best part of 12, 13 holes and I came around the turn and there were a few more people out and getting behind me and it gave me some energy down the stretch,” he said.

Hillier arrived in Australia having agonisingly missed a PGA Tour spot in the DP World Tour finale in Dubai by what he reckoned was a mere two or three shots.

He played well to finish tied for fifth at the Australian PGA Championship last week, as he and Fox try to break that Kiwi hoodoo in Australia’s oldest golf tournament.

“That is pretty crazy (no New Zealand winner). There’s a lot of pretty awesome competition out there so it’s a tough one to win, but it’d be nice to have a good weekend and give it a shot.”

It wasn’t so good for another leading Kiwi, Kazuma Kobori, who missed the cut at three-over, after rounds of 75 and 70.