TGD – This Week In Golf – Ryan Fox Wins The Open at Royal Birkdale, and It Fits Him Perfectly (July 19, 2026)
The 154th Open Championship came down to a birdie putt on the 72nd hole, and Ryan Fox made it. The New Zealander closed with a 2-under 68 at Royal Birkdale, finishing at 10-under 270 to win his first major title by a single stroke over Cameron Young — becoming just the third New Zealander ever to win a major championship.
How Sunday Unfolded
The final round was a genuine four-way scramble. Si Woo Kim took the outright lead late, chasing what would have been a historic first major win for an Asian-born player, before a four-over 40 on the back nine unraveled his round entirely — he finished T6, still the best major finish of his career, but a painful collapse in the moment. Sam Burns, the 54-hole leader, bogeyed three straight holes on the back nine and fell out of the lead. Cameron Young shot a stellar 6-under 64, the low round of the day, and set the clubhouse target at 9-under — then waited more than two hours knowing a playoff was very possible.
Fox, playing in the group behind, had his own moment of adversity on 15 with a brutal bunker break — no real reaction, a backward chip-out, and a bogey save that kept his round intact. He arrived at 18 tied for the lead and calmly rolled in an 11-foot, 7-inch birdie putt to win outright, needing no playoff at all.
Why Fox Fits This Win
At 39, Fox’s rise to major champion has been unconventional — he didn’t start competitive golf until 18. But his résumé already included wins across very different conditions: the 2022 Dunhill Links on a classic links setup, the 2025 BMW PGA Championship in England, and the 2025 RBC Canadian Open. A career built on adapting to different golf courses and countries made him, in hindsight, a natural fit for a championship that rewards exactly that kind of adaptability.
The Undercard
Scottie Scheffler and Tommy Fleetwood tied for fourth at 7-under, with Fleetwood’s week carrying extra weight as a Southport native playing an Open at a course close to home. Fleetwood didn’t contend for the win, but the walk up 18 in front of a home crowd was one of the week’s quieter, more human moments.
Why It Matters
Majors are frequently won by the sport’s most famous names, which makes weeks like this one worth remembering — a player who didn’t start playing golf competitively until adulthood, with a career built on quietly winning tournaments across the world rather than chasing headlines, out-executed a leaderboard full of bigger names down the stretch. Fox’s calm handling of adversity on 15, followed by a clutch birdie on 18 under maximum pressure, is the kind of finish that defines how a career gets remembered.
Sources: Golf Channel, NBC Sports, GOLF.com, Yahoo Sports, Bleacher Nation
