El golfista del PGA Tour Ryan Fox se retiró del Players Championship en TPC Sawgrass horas antes de su hora de salida programada el jueves, citando cálculos renales que requirieron cirugía. David Ford lo reemplazó en el campo como primer suplente. Fox, que llegaba a la semana en gran forma, expresó su devastación por perderse el evento.
Ryan Fox llegó a TPC Sawgrass para el Players Championship en 2026 como uno de los jugadores más consistentes del PGA Tour. Había registrado cuatro top-25 al principio de la temporada, ganando 1,7 millones de dólares y ubicándose en el No. 44 del mundo. Sus resultados recientes incluían un T24 en el WM Phoenix Open, T24 en Pebble Beach, T7 en el Genesis Invitational donde ganó 603.200 dólares, y T24 en el Arnold Palmer Invitational. Esto lo colocaba en el 34º en puntos FedExCup con 287. Estadísticamente, Fox ocupaba el 21º en Strokes Gained: Total, con una distancia de golpeo de 314,4 yardas (17º en el Tour) y 80º en SG: Approach. However, kidney stones struck on Tuesday night, forcing his withdrawal five hours before his 1:18 p.m. ET tee time on Thursday alongside Chris Kirk and Keegan Bradley. Fox underwent surgery that morning and shared an update from his hospital bed on Instagram: “Not exactly the week I had planned here @theplayers. Unfortunately, some kidney stones took me down on Tuesday night, and then I had to be dealt with surgically this afternoon. Devastated to miss out on such an amazing event, hoping to have a quick recovery and be back at it soon.” David Ford, the first alternate and top finisher in the 2025 PGA Tour University rankings, filled Fox's spot. Ford recently tied for 16th at the Puerto Rico Open. John Parry became the next alternate for the 123-player field, which still featured 45 of the top 50 players worldwide. Fox's history at The Players showed improvement: T-27 in 2023, missed cut in 2024, and T-20 in 2025. Fans rallied on social media, with comments like “All the best for your recovery, Foxy!” and “Gutted for you Foxy. Heal well. Sending love to gorgeous Annika too xxx.” Others urged a speedy recovery ahead of The Masters in five weeks. Despite the setback, Fox's strong season continues.