Ryan Fox and Danny Lee have two goals in mind at Kingston Heath - beating Australia in their own backyard and becoming the first New Zealand duo to win the golf World Cup.
Danny Lee and Ryan Fox at the 2016 World Cup of Golf. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Fox and Lee fired a sizzling round of eight-under-par 64 during the secon day's best- ball format.
It was an 11-shot improvement on their opening alternate-shot round of 75, leaving them at five under for the tournament, seven shots adrift of leaders Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen from Denmark.
They're tied for 10th.
Playing with Dutch duo Joost Luiten and Darius van Driel, the quartet put on a putting clinic with 18 birdies between them.
Fox said he and Lee yearned to become New Zealand's first golf World Cup champions - a feat legendary Kiwi golfers and major champions Michael Campbell and Sir Bob Charles didn't achieve.
"We'd love to get our names on the trophy," Fox said.
"I don't think there's been a New Zealand pair win it and it's always nice to get one up over you guys (Australia), especially on home soil."
An added motivation for Fox is to atone for a disappointing finish to the Australian Open, where the son of All Blacks great Grant Fox contended during all four rounds at Royal Sydney.
Fox - who has a full playing card on the European Tour in 2017 - eventually shared fourth place and missed out on one of three automatic qualifications to next year's British Open at Royal Birkdale.
"That would have been a nice little consolation on top of a good tournament," Fox said. "I really enjoyed being in the mix and playing with (eventual champion) Jordan (Spieth).
"Hopefully I've got plenty more opportunities for that. It's nice to build on last week."
New Zealand has been runner-up twice at the World Cup tournament: Michael Campbell and David Smail in Japan in 2001, and Bob Charles and Walter Godfrey in Mexico in 1967.
