As chaos unfolded on Sunday afternoon at the 154th Open Championship, Ryan Fox was the man who kept cool in the baking conditions at Royal Birkdale. The 39-year-old New Zealander shot a two-under 68 to finish one stroke ahead of American Cameron Young, lifting the Claret Jug and capping a career-defining week as a 100-1 outsider.
Entering the final stretch, Fox knew a birdie on the long par-4 18th hole—which had yielded only four birdies all day—would secure his first major title. Pulling driver from his bag, he launched a 330-yard tee shot into the middle of the fairway, followed by a 175-yard approach to the heart of the green. He calmly converted the 11-foot putt to seal victory.
“I didn't feel anything for the putt - everything was shaking that much,” Fox said. “It's not a very comfortable feeling. It's certainly very enjoyable when you see it go in.”
Fox’s triumph capped a remarkably tight championship that saw four different players top the leaderboard on Sunday: Fox, Young, overnight leader Sam Burns, and South Korea's Kim Si-woo. Fox’s path to the trophy required historic resilience. Following an opening-round 72 that left him seven strokes behind in a tie for 85th place, a second-round 68 moved him to 52nd before a course-record-equalling eight-under 62 on Saturday propelled him into contention. It marked the largest comeback by position after 36 holes at a major in history.
The Contenders Who Fell Just Short
Cameron Young established the clubhouse target at nine under par after firing a brilliant six-under 64 playing in lighter morning wind. However, a closing bogey on the 18th—driving into a fairway bunker and hitting the lip with his second shot—derailed his final push. Young pointed to a third-round 73 as the true culprit behind his near-miss.
Meanwhile, local favourite Tommy Fleetwood generated immense crowd support as he moved within a single shot of the lead on Saturday and again on Sunday. But a catastrophic stretch around the turn—three consecutive bogeys on holes 9, 10, and 11, sparked by an over-zealous approach on the ninth—dashed his hopes of a home victory. Fleetwood ultimately finished in a tie for fourth at four under par alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler.
DeChambeau’s Rules Drama and Recovery
Bryson DeChambeau provided much of the tournament's turbulent backdrop following a Friday evening rules controversy on the fifth hole. R&A officials assessed DeChambeau a two-shot penalty after determining he had inadvertently improved the area of his intended swing in high grass, turning his bogey 5 into a triple-bogey 7. The ruling dropped him from seven under par—one shot out of the lead—to five under par.
The infraction triggered a bizarre scene involving an animated argument with executive director of governance Grant Moir and tournament officials near the fifth green, during which television cameras captured DeChambeau stating he would not play Saturday. Following a tense thirty minutes inside the scoring trailer, DeChambeau stormed out to the practice range in the dark, hitting balls until 10:30 p.m. before confirming via social media that he would tee it up for the weekend.
Grant Moir clarified the strict application of the rules in a statement to reporters: Bryson has been penalized two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing, so intended backswing on the fifth hole when he was playing his second shot.
Moir emphasized that the rule applies even when actions are entirely accidental.
Despite the penalty and heavy pre-tournament criticism from analysts regarding his links strategy and off-course focus, DeChambeau remained in contention heading into the weekend.
| Leaderboard Position | Player | Country | To Par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Fox | New Zealand | -7 |
| 2 (Tie) | Cameron Young | United States | -6 |
| 2 (Tie) | Lucas Herbert | Australia | -6 |
| 4 | Ludvig Åberg | Sweden | -5 |
| 5 (Tie) | Bryson DeChambeau | United States | -4 |
| 6 (Tie) | Matt Penge, Jordan Smith, Dan Brown | England | -3 |
Sources
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- bbc.co.uk original
- nytimes.com original
- nypost.com original
