The Open Championship, final leaderboard
-10 R Fox (NZ); -9 C Young (US); -8 S Burns (US)
Selected: -7 S Scheffler (US), T Fleetwood (Eng); -6 L Herbert (Aus); -5 L Aberg (Swe); -4 B DeChambeau (US); -3 M Penge (Eng), J Smith (Eng), D Brown (Eng); -2 R MacIntyre (Sco), S Lowry (Ire); -1 R McIlroy (NI), M Wallace (Eng)
Full leaderboard
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, who is the son of All Black rugby legend Grant, shot a two-under 68 to finish one ahead of American Cameron Young and lift the Claret Jug.
After a final round full of spills and thrills, Fox knew a birdie on the 18th would be enough to secure his first major title.
Easier said than done. The long par-four had yielded only four birdies all day, but the courageous Fox did not take a step back as he chased down long-time clubhouse leader Young.
Fox grabbed the driver out of the bag and launched a crackerjack of a 330-yard tee-shot into the middle of the fairway.
With 175 yards left, he hit one of the approach shots of his career into the heart of the green.
Then he calmly stepped up and converted the biggest putt of his life from 11 feet.
“I didn’t feel anything for the putt – everything was shaking that much,” said Fox, who was a 100-1 outsider at the start of the tournament and finished with four birdies in his final six holes to earn the title of ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’.
“It’s not a very comfortable feeling. It’s certainly very enjoyable when you see it go in.”
Fox’s career has often been overshadowed by his father Grant’s achievements, given he helped the All Blacks win the 1987 World Cup and was once their record points scorer.
The family’s strong sporting stock also includes Ryan’s grandfather Merv Wallace, who captained and coached the New Zealand cricket team.
“We’ve got a great history in our family,” said Fox. “The other great thing is I had no pressure on me to follow in any of their footsteps.
“I don’t know if this tops their achievements, but it’s certainly right up there. I guess there’s no pressure on my kids going forward now.”
