The New Zealand star admitted he would have preferred a more comfortable route into the season finale after making life difficult for himself over the final two weeks of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Fox entered the week in a strong position to crack the top 30 but endured a frustrating week, particularly on the greens, before a poor final round left his Tour Championship hopes hanging in the balance.

“I would like to have made it a bit easier the last couple of weeks,” Fox admitted.

“Tee to green I played pretty good for three days this week and couldn't get the ball in the hole. Then played awful today and maybe holed a couple more putts through the middle of the round.

“So, golf doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, to be honest.”

Fox was forced to wait and watch the remainder of the action before his place at East Lake was confirmed, but he knew his position was strong enough to give him a genuine chance of making the field.

“I think statistically it's a pretty good chance of getting there and, yeah, I'm looking forward to Atlanta. My first trip, hopefully.”

The achievement adds another milestone to what has already been a remarkable season for Fox.

Having claimed his maiden major championship earlier in the year, the Kiwi has now ticked off another of the goals that comes with establishing yourself on the PGA Tour.

“I mean, I guess ever since getting on Tour it's the one you want to get to,” Fox said.

“Last year I gave myself a good chance and didn't play very well in the playoffs either. I wanted to rectify that this year.”

Fox admitted the significance of his season is still sinking in, with the prospect of reaching East Lake providing what he described as the “cherry on the top”.

“I think I'm still trying to come to terms with what happened five or six weeks ago and everything that comes with it,” he said.

“The little cherry on the top will definitely be getting to Tour Championship.”

Fox now knows exactly where he needs to improve if he is to make the most of his unexpected escape into the 30-man field.

Driving and putting are at the top of the list.

“I need to drive it better,” Fox said.

“I drove it terribly this week. I think from what I understand Atlanta's Bermuda off the fairways, which is not very nice, so need to drive it a lot better than I have done this week.

“The biggest thing was the putter. I putted awfully the whole week.”

For all the frustration of the past fortnight, Fox can now head to Atlanta with nothing to lose.

The points race resets for the Tour Championship, giving the Kiwi another opportunity to cap an extraordinary season with one final statement.

“Everything resets next week and hopefully can find something,” Fox said.