Fox seals historic maiden Major victory at The 154th Open with dramatic final-hole birdie
New Zealander delivers stunning 62-68 weekend finish at Royal Birkdale to capture Claret Jug by one stroke over Cameron Young
Korea - New Zealand’s Ryan Fox completed one of the most remarkable weekend comebacks in Major championship history, holing a nerve-shredding 11-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole at Royal Birkdale to win The 154th Open Championship by a single stroke. The 39-year-old Auckland native carded a final-round two-under-par 68 to finish at 10-under 270, edging out American Cameron Young, who had earlier set the clubhouse target with a fiery 64. With his breakthrough victory, Fox becomes only the third New Zealander to capture a men’s Major title—joining Sir Bob Charles and Michael Campbell—and seals the largest 36-hole position comeback from T-52 to winner in modern Major history.
Having narrowly made the weekend cut on Friday before exploding with a course-record-tying 62 on Saturday, Fox entered Sunday’s final round trailing 54-hole leader Sam Burns by two strokes. After dropping a shot on the 11th hole to fall back to seven-under, Fox mounted a heroic back-nine charge with birdies on the 13th and 14th to pull level with Young. A nerve-racking bunker recovery at the 15th resulted in a bogey, but Fox immediately answered with a 10-foot birdie on the 16th to draw tied for the lead once more heading into the dramatic final hole.
Facing a 175-yard approach into the wind on the 18th, Fox executed a brilliant 9-iron to 11 feet and calmly drained the championship-winning putt. “I said to my caddie, Dean, on the 18th tee that we were going to take it on, that I was going to try to win the tournament, and I’d live with the consequences if I stuffed it up,” Fox reflected after lifting the Claret Jug. “To be the Champion Golfer of the Year... it’s unbelievable, surreal, crazy. I spoke to my kids last night and they said, ‘Bring back a trophy.’ I think this is a pretty cool one to bring back for them.”
Young, who won the Players Championship earlier this season, posted a six-under 64 featuring five consecutive threes on his front nine to hold the clubhouse lead at nine-under par for over two hours before Fox’s final-hole heroics. Overnight leader Burns stalled with a final-round 72 to finish solo third at eight-under par. Meanwhile, World No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler birdied 16 and 17 before a closing bogey left him at seven-under par in a tie for fourth alongside home favorite Tommy Fleetwood, while South Korea’s Si Woo Kim tied for sixth at six-under par following a final-round 72.