Fox, who had never recorded a top-10 finish at a major, shot 2-under 68 in the final round.
With a walk-off birdie. It was a dream ending for Ryan Fox — an ending the 39-year-old New Zealander once dared to dream but never thought would become reality.
Fox buried an 11-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole of Royal Birkdale to get to 10 under par and deliver a dagger of heartbreak to Westchester’s Cam Young, who was standing on 9 under par and watching from the practice range, poised for a playoff. There would be no playoff, because Fox mastered the most difficult hole on the golf course, No. 18, which had wrecked Young’s round 2 ¹/₂ hours earlier when he bogeyed it.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Major championship final-round, in-the-moment dreams are constructed exactly the way Fox played the 72nd hole. He was tied with Young at 9 under as he stood on the 18th tee. He piped a drive down the center of the most difficult fairway on the course to hit and had 176 yards to the hole.
He then delivered his 9-iron approach to birdie range, made the putt — for just the fifth birdie of the day from the field of 78 golfers — and raised his arms to the sky in celebration while Young quietly packed his things and left the premises as a second-time runner-up at the British Open, and third of his career in a major. A short time later, Fox was handed the Claret Jug, one of the most fabled trophies in all of sport, in the winner’s ceremony on the 18th green.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen it up close,’’ Fox said. “It’s unbelievable. I still don’t know what to think. My nerves are all over the place.
I’m not quite sure how I hit that putt on 18. It is a dream come true. ’’Ryan Fox celebrates winning the British Open after sinking his final putt on July 19, 2026.
“I hit two perfect shots,’’ Fox said. “I’m not sure how I hit the putt. 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.
‘Champion Golfer of the Year’ has got a pretty good ring to it. ’’ Fox, shooting 68 in the final round after having posted a 62 on Saturday, edged out Young by one shot. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Fox — whose best finish in 29 previous majors was a tie for 16th at the 2019 British Open — finished two shots clear of Sam Burns, who entered the day with a two-shot lead.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler made a move Sunday with a 67, but finished three shots short at 7 under. Local favorite, Southport native Tommy Fleetwood, aka “Tommy Lad,’’ made a front-nine run that got him to 8 under par and two off the lead and had Birkdale buzzing, but he couldn’t sustain and finished at 7 under, same as Scheffler. Cameron Young walks off the 18th green at the British Open on July 19, 2026.
“Ryan played amazing,’’ Burns, who had the front-row seat as his playing partner, said. “He’s a well-earned champion. Hats off to him. He did what he needed to do down the stretch.
’’ Fox became the second Open champion from New Zealand, joining Bob Charles, who won in 1963, and the fourth professional major champion from New Zealand, joining Charles, Michael Campbell, a U.S. Open winner, and Lydia Ko, a multiple major champion on the LPGA Tour.
“This is going to be huge down in New Zealand,’’ said Fox, the son of New Zealand rugby legend Grant Fox. “I used to get up in the middle of the night to watch this tournament back home. I think deep down I probably thought I could compete with the best guys in the world, but until you actually do it, it’s a bit harder to believe. Both wins last year really made me believe that.
“I was kind of thinking that down the stretch today, like I’m in a position I feel like I could be in. To execute down the stretch is pretty awesome. My kids asked me to bring home a trophy for them, and this is about as cool a one as I can bring home, I think.
“You do dream of this moment. 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. ’’IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectGetty ImagesIMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectCameron Young walks off the 18th green at the British Open on July 19, 2026.
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