New Zealand’s Ryan Fox captured his first major championship title on Sunday, making a dramatic 11-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win the 154th British Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. The 39-year-old Auckland native carded a final-round 2-under-par 68 to finish the week at 10-under 270, one stroke ahead of American Cameron Young. Fox became just the second male New Zealander to claim the Claret Jug, following Bob Charles’ victory 63 years ago and securing a record $3.2 million winner’s payout from the $17.75 million event purse.
Fox entered the final round two shots behind overnight leader Sam Burns, but a chaotic back nine saw five different players share a piece of the lead. Young had established the clubhouse target at 9-under par after firing a spectacular 6-under 64, forcing the remaining contenders to chase him for over two hours. Fox recovered from a bogey on the 15th hole by recording a birdie on the par-4 16th to join Young at the top of the leaderboard.
Standing on the 18th tee tied for the lead, Fox elected to aggressively attack the finishing hole rather than playing for a standard par to force a playoff. He struck a 330-yard tee shot down the fairway and followed it with a 9-iron approach from 175 yards out, leaving himself an 11-foot, 7-inch putt. Despite intense pressure, Fox converted the putt to seal the victory and claim the $3.2 million winner’s share of the $17.75 million purse.
“I said to my caddie, Dean, we’re going to take it on, we’re going to try to win, and I’ll deal with whatever consequences happen,” Fox said regarding his strategy on the final hole. Reflecting on the final stroke, he noted, “I’m not sure how I hit the putt straight to be honest, everything was shaking, trembling,” adding that “it’s a whole lot different in real life, I can tell you that”.
Young secured his second career runner-up finish at the Open Championship, while Burns shot a 2-over 72 to finish solo third at 8-under par. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and England’s Tommy Fleetwood tied for fourth at 7-under par.
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