Ryan Fox claimed his first major title at the 154th Open Championship, becoming the first New Zealander since Bob Charles in 1963 to win the tournament. Fox secured victory with a birdie putt on the final hole, finishing with a 68 and a 10-under-par total, one stroke ahead of Cameron Young.
Emotional Victory on the 18th
Fox described the moment of his winning putt as surreal, saying he had no sensation in his hands. “You can’t feel your hands, I know that,” he said. “My focus with the putter all day was, just take a really deep breath before I hit it and just try to hit a line and I did that on 18. I was shaking. I was just trying to get it up there near the hole.”
He added, “It looked pretty straight and thankfully it dived in that left edge. It’s crazy. I don’t really know what to think. I don’t know how I managed to keep the putter face square enough for that to go on line but I’ll take it.”
A Strong Finish
Fox’s inward half of 34 included two birdies in the last three holes. He credited his caddie for keeping him calm. “I said to my caddie through six or eight holes: ‘I feel a lot better than I thought I would feel right now,’” he said. “I played really solid early. To play that last hole how I did, I stood on the tee and said to my caddie: ‘Dean, we’re going to try to win this.’ I hit two perfect shots. I’m not sure how I hit the putt. As I said, my hands were all over the place. I was just trying to get it towards the hole somewhere. It’s surreal that it went in.”
A Historic Win for New Zealand
Fox, the son of All Black rugby legend Grant Fox, had not recorded a major top-10 finish before this and missed the cut in the 2025 Open. “You dream of this moment,” he said. “I don’t know whether I ever thought it was going to become a reality. Now it is and to have my name etched in the history of the game is pretty awesome. I think it’s pretty awesome for New Zealand as well. It’s going to be big down there.”
He added, “I appreciate all the support from down there at home. It’s going to be a lot of people pretty tired Monday morning at work after staying up all night to watch. I’m glad it was worthwhile for them.”
