SEOUL, 21 May 2015 (AFP) - Coming off a second place finish at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open near Seoul last week, the Kiwi managed an eagle and four birdies in his four-under-par round of 68.
The son of the All Black rugby great Grant Fox, he was the only non-South Korean in the leading pack which included Kim Gi-Whan, 2009 champion Park Sang-Hyun, and Choi Jin-Ho.
One stroke back on three-under was a chasing pack of five golfers, including Australian David McKenzie who sank five birdies.
Local star K.J. Choi, a three-time winner of the SK Telecom Open, had a disappointing day carding 73, while defending champion Kim Seung-Hyuk fared even worse, going round in 74.
Leading first-round scores (South Korean unless stated, 'A' denotes amateur):
68 - Ryan Fox (NZL), Kim Gi-Whan, Park Sang-Hyun, Choi Jin-Ho.
69 - Kang Sung-Hoon, David McKenzie (AUS), Lee Sung-Ho, Kim Nam-Hun (A), Kim Seng-Yong
70 - Gareth Paddison (NZL), Kim Do-Hoon, Cho Ming-Yu, Wang Jeung-Hun, Kim Tae (A), Park Eun-Shin, Jung Ji-Ho, Lee Seung-Taek, Lee Chang-Woo, Kim Dae-Hyun