Fox shrugs off pain to earn a share of the lead

The 35-year-old Ayrshireman has been in agony since a crashing fall after he slipped on the second tee at the Perthshire venue during a practice round last week for the SGU’s flagship event.

He was close to pulling out but, helped by strong painkillers, Fox battled his way to a three-under-par 68 to sit at the top of the leaderboard alongside Irvine Bogside’s James McKinnon and Mark Kerr of Marriott Dalmahoy. “I can feel the pain with every shot, but that was a good thing as I didn’t think about my swing. I’d say my power has been reduced by 15 per cent and I was keeping it straight,” said Fox.

Originally from West Kilbride, he now lives in Glasgow and is attached to Rowallan Castle, where he has been receiving coaching from his fellow professional, Ross Aitken. “We’ve made some major changes and I feel a lot more confident,” added Fox, who is through to the second stage of the European Tour Q-School.

Kerr, who also came through the first stage at Dundonald Links, led going into the final round of this event 12 months ago before finishing third behind Chris Doak. The 29-year-old from Edinburgh is off to another fast start and admitted he is excited about the playing opportunities that lie ahead now that he has finished his PGA training.

“My career starts now,” said Kerr, who is one of the Tartan Tour’s rising stars, having made his presence felt in events like the Northern Open as well as this year’s Paul Lawrie Invitational.

McKinnon joined Fox and Kerr in the lead after lighting up his round with birdies at the 11th and 12th, then hitting his drive to ten feet for an eagle-2 at the 14th. Buchanan Castle’s Jason McCreadie is in a group on 69, one ahead of David Orr, Greig Hutcheon and Chris Kelly, while Hayston’s Stephen Gray, leading both the order of merit and money-list, was pleased with his opening effort, a 72.