Fox shot three bogeys and an eagle on the back nine before eight pars and a birdie on the front nine to finish with an okay but somewhat disappointing second round score of 71, on a day where mid-60 scores from the likes of Wenyi Ding (65), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (65) and midday leader Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (66) saw some significant moves at the top-end of the 2025 Australian Open leaderboard.
The 38-year-old was tied for fourth as of 12:30pm local time on Friday afternoon with overnight clubhouse leader Elvis Smylie yet to tee off for his second round.
Despite Thursday's havoc-creating gusts easing and temperatures dropping ever so slightly, Fox found himself surprised by a lack of pace in the greens and attributed his score to his incorrect assessment of the speed.
"It was always going to be hard to back up a round like that," Fox said after submitting his card.
"I just felt like I had one of those days where I was always in between clubs and that's not great out here.
"They had the pins a little tougher today than they did yesterday and just felt like I couldn't get close to the hole and I didn't putt as well as yesterday."
With the Royal Melbourne Golf Club greens and fairways now quickening up after feeling the effects of Melbourne's wettest November in decades, and a fresh cut taking place between rounds, Fox found himself surprised that there was not a significant change of pace overnight.
"I left a lot of putts short today with decent line, just not quite the right speed," Fox said. and yeah,
"I think maybe they're just going to let them go again over the weekend and they're going to firm up and quicken up again and you don't want them too scary on a Friday morning. They're absolutely perfect.
"They definitely firmed up after yesterday, but yeah, I thought they were definitely faster than yesterday, but I didn't think they were as fast as they probably can get them here."
Fox is aiming to become the first Kiwi title winner in the 108-year history of the Australian Open and the world number 41 told media that he's been feeling the love in Melbourne this week.
"The support from the last couple of days has been great. Definitely a lot of Kiwis here. I think there's been a lot of Kiwis come over as well," Fox explained.
"If you're a golf fan, why wouldn't you? I mean it's one of the best golf courses in the world, the city's great to come to as well.
"I always feel like I get decent support in Australia, but it's been really, really good the last couple of days."