Ryan Fox has won the Open Championship, holing a 12 foot birdie putt on the final green at Royal Birkdale to become only the third New Zealand man to lift one of golf’s four major titles. The 39 year old finished at 10 under par, one shot clear of American Cameron Young, and did it the hard way, needing a birdie on the last hole to avoid a playoff and draining the putt when it mattered most.
It was the sort of finish that decades of near misses had never quite delivered for Fox, who has spent much of his career as one of the most respected players in Europe without ever landing the biggest prize. He birdied four of his final six holes on Sunday, then stood over an 11 and a half foot putt on the 72nd hole of the tournament knowing that anything but a birdie would send him back out for extra holes against a clubhouse leader who had already finished.
Fox hit a 9 iron from 175 yards on the closing hole and left himself that one putt for the Claret Jug. He made it, and the reaction told you how much pressure he had been carrying. “I hit two shots exactly how I wanted to hit them. I didn’t feel anything for the putt, everything was shaking that much,” he told reporters afterwards. “It’s not like that in real life. It’s not a very comfortable feeling. It’s certainly very enjoyable when you see it go in.”
The win completes a remarkable weekend. Fox had put himself in contention on Saturday with a third round of 62, a score that tied the lowest single round ever recorded in the men’s Open and left him within touching distance of the lead heading into the final day. He backed it up with a closing 68 on Sunday, a round built on patient iron play and a short game that kept finding ways out of trouble on a links course that punished anything loose.
Young, who posted a final round 64 to set the target at 9 under, was left to watch from the clubhouse as Fox played the closing stretch. Overnight leader Sam Burns could not hold his position, shooting a 2 over 72 to finish two shots back in solo third. World number one Scottie Scheffler closed with a 67 and Tommy Fleetwood a 68, the pair tied for fourth. For long stretches of the afternoon the outcome looked as though it could go several ways, but Fox’s late surge settled it.
For New Zealand golf the result carries real weight. Fox becomes just the third New Zealand man to win a men’s major, joining Sir Bob Charles, who won the Open at Royal Lytham in 1963, and Michael Campbell, who claimed the United States Open at Pinehurst in 2005. Lydia Ko has won multiple majors on the women’s side, so Fox’s victory adds another chapter to a small but distinguished list of New Zealanders who have reached the very top of the sport.
The family story adds to the occasion. Ryan Fox is the son of Grant Fox, the former All Blacks first five eighth whose goal kicking helped New Zealand win the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. The younger Fox grew up playing a range of sports before settling on golf, and he has spoken about how that background shaped the fast, instinctive way he plays. “I was always that way as a kid. I see things fast. I was the same when I was playing cricket growing up,” he said. “I played almost every sport growing up, and tennis I wanted to hit the ball hard, and cricket I wanted to hit the ball hard. Everything just happened fast. I was never methodical at anything, to be honest, and it just carried over into golf.”
That approach has long been part of Fox’s appeal. He plays quickly, walks briskly between shots and rarely lingers over a decision, a rhythm that stands out in a modern game often criticised for slow play. At Royal Birkdale it helped him stay ahead of the nerves on a day when a slower, more deliberate player might have been swallowed by the pressure of the moment.
Fox has built his career largely on the DP World Tour, the main professional circuit in Europe, where he has been a consistent winner and a fixture near the top of the season long standings. He has also earned his place on the PGA Tour in the United States in recent years. Through all of it, a major had remained the missing line on his record, the one achievement that separates a very good professional from a champion remembered for generations. At Royal Birkdale that changed.
The victory is worth reflecting on for what it says about persistence. Fox is not a young prodigy breaking through in his first seasons as a professional. He is an experienced campaigner who kept turning up, kept contending and finally converted on the biggest stage at an age when many players are thought to be past their best chance. His name will now be engraved on the Claret Jug alongside the greats of the game, and it will stay there.
You can read more on the win from RNZ Sport and the ESPN report on the final round.
What did you make of Ryan Fox’s Open win, and where does it rank among New Zealand’s great sporting moments? Leave a comment below and let us know.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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