SOUTHPORT, England — Ryan Fox arrived at Royal Birkdale needing every shot just to survive the cut. By Sunday afternoon, he was walking off the 18th green as the winner of the British Open.
Fox, a 39-year-old from New Zealand, secured the 154th Open Championship with a birdie on the final hole, finishing the tournament at 10-under-par. His closing round of 68 left him one stroke ahead of Cameron Young and completed one of the biggest turnarounds of the week.
The path to victory was far from straightforward. Fox opened the tournament with a 72 and found himself well down the leaderboard after Thursday’s play. He recovered with a second-round 68 and advanced to the weekend by the narrowest of margins.
Everything changed on Saturday. Taking advantage of favorable morning conditions, Fox recorded a 62, tying both the Royal Birkdale course record and the lowest round ever shot in a men’s major championship. The performance moved him into contention heading into the final round, trailing overnight leader Sam Burns by two shots.
Fox’s rise to the top of professional golf has taken time. He did not establish himself on the DP World Tour until his thirties and only earned PGA Tour status at age 37. Earlier this season, he added victories in Myrtle Beach and Canada, signs that his game had reached another level.
His background is rooted in New Zealand sports. Fox is the son of former All Blacks star Grant Fox and the grandson of a New Zealand international cricketer. Despite those connections, golf was never an easy path. During his early years on the Australian Tour, he considered stepping away from the game altogether before turning things around and continuing his career.
Sunday’s final round featured several players with a chance to win. Young charged up the leaderboard with a 64 and spent more than two hours waiting to see if his score would hold. Burns struggled to maintain his lead after a difficult stretch on the front nine, while Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood and Si Woo Kim all briefly entered the conversation during the afternoon.
Fox appeared to lose momentum when he dropped a shot at the 11th hole, but he quickly responded with birdies on the 13th, 14th and 16th. That left him tied for the lead as he stepped onto the final tee.
Knowing that a birdie would eliminate the need for a playoff, Fox chose an aggressive approach. He hit his drive more than 330 yards down the fairway before landing his approach shot roughly 11 feet from the hole. The putt found the cup moments later, prompting an emotional celebration beside the green.
The victory makes Fox the third male golfer from New Zealand to win a major championship and the oldest first-time major winner in several years. It also marked the end of a journey that nearly stalled more than a decade ago.
Before the final round, Fox’s children had asked him to bring home a trophy. He will now return with one of golf’s most recognizable prizes, the Claret Jug.
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