Kiwi Fox tops Aussie birdie charge in UAE

Australia's golfers were firing in birdies for fun on the opening day of the European Tour's Ras Al Khaimah Classic - but they still couldn't top a rival from across the Tasman.

Between them, the four Australians in the field recorded a collective 26 birdies at the Hamra Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates city of Ras Al Khaimah on Thursday yet they were all eclipsed by New Zealander Ryan Fox.

The Aucklander recorded 10 birdies and just one bogey as he equalled the course record with a nine-under-par 63 to open up a two-shot lead over his pursuers.

Ranked 211 in the world, the 35-year-old is after his 13th title and looked a very different figure to the man who missed the cut in last week's on the same course.

But some physio treatment to his dodgy back and a putting tip from South African player Shaun Norris seemed to work wonders as he ended up with a two-shot lead over Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia following the best round of his seven-season slog on the European tour.

"I struggled last week here with my back and I have my physio out here, and the Tour physio has helped me out over the weekend, and I feel 100 per cent this week which was nice," said Fox.

"Shaun Norris was nice enough to give me a putting tip on Tuesday when we played a practice round together and that seemed to work pretty well too, so big shout-out to those guys.

"My body felt a bit better today than last week, I felt like I could do what I wanted to do and I wasn't fighting it so hopefully I wake up tomorrow feeling good and I can keep doing what I'm doing."

Just a shot further back behind Gouveia in joint-third with eight others is Australian Jason Scrivener, who shot an immaculate six-birdie 66 with no dropped shots, which featured a spectacular