Fox ranked 70th in strokes gained putting in the 72-man field but made up for it with brilliant touch around the greens.
The Kiwi opened with a birdie at the par-five opening hole before three-putting at the par-four third, which led to a bogey. He made a nice recovery at the 532m par-five eighth after finding the greenside water with his second shot, Fox chipped in with his fourth to leave with birdie.
Fox remained at one-under with four to play but went bogey-birdie-bogey before ending his day with a par.
Australian Adam Scott sits well back in a tie for 69th after he was hit with a two-stroke penalty for playing the wrong ball on the eighth hole, leading to a double-bogey seven. He eventually finished at four-over.
At the DP World Tour’s Turkish Open, Kazuma Kobori sits in a share of 22nd place after opening with a two-under 70, four shots back from leader Mikael Lindberg of Sweden. Fellow Kiwi Daniel Hillier carded an even-par 72 to lie in a share of 63rd.