The wily, fabulous Ryan Fox survived a contrary examination posed by the scorched links of Royal Birkdale to claim the Claret Jug in this 154th Open on the famed Lancashire course hard by the Irish Sea.
It was a masterclass in driving down the stretch, showcased by brilliance with the putter on the 18th green, sinking a 12-footer for birdie, to card a closing 68 for 10-under-par 270, one stroke clear of American Cameron Young.
The Kiwi raised his hands to the skies above, a weekend which had started with finding a £100 payout in his locker from Shane Lowry for the All Blacks’ rugby win over Ireland, which then progressed to riches almost beyond his dreams. He superbly captured The Open with a display of resilience down the stretch on a day when a difficult crosswind wreaked havoc with the aspirations of others.
Young, with an earlier tee time, had moved with stealth to post a fine 64 for nine-under 271 to set the clubhouse target, before the winds increased to whip across the links. The American had signed his scorecard some two-and-a-half hours earlier, only returning to the practice ground when Fox and Sam Burns walked on to the 18th tee with the potential for a playoff hanging in the air.
RM Block
But the roars from the grandstands of Fox’s birdie on the 18th drifted his way to inform him his work would not be extended.
Fox – just the third male golfer from New Zealand to win a Major, joining Bob Charles and Michael Campbell – has, of course, greatness in his DNA. The son of All Black legend Grant Fox, the 39-year-old’s decision to pursue golfing greatness of his own was vindicated in magnificent fashion on a day when others toiled as the wind forced players and caddies to second-guess shot execution.
Burns, who carried a two-stroke lead into the final round, a month after coming up shy to Wyndham Clark in the US Open, birdied the second hole but failed to find another for the rest of his round. He suffered back-to-back bogeys on the fourth and fifth before a run of 12 straight pars saw him signing for a 72 for 272, two strokes behind Fox in solo third.
Scottie Scheffler, the world number one, too had a sniff of victory for a time after the unlikeliest of birdies on the 17th. The defending champion benefited from line-of-sight relief and a free drop after his second shot on the par 5 disappeared never to be found in the hospitality down the left, and moved him to eight-under before a closing bogey – in a 67 for 273 – saw him settle for tied-fourth alongside Tommy Fleetwood.
Fleetwood, more than anyone, had stirred the huge galleries to life when a birdie on the eighth moved him to eight-under but a run of bogey-bogey-bogey from the ninth to 11th spoilt the hometown lad’s party.
Others, at various times, moved to the top of the leaderboard only to get stage fright of one kind or another. Si Woo Kim, for one. The South Korean had the solo lead on 10-under through 11 holes but then suffered back-to-back bogeys on the 11th and 12th in a back nine of 40 strokes, featuring four bogeys, to ultimately sign for a 72 for 274 that dropped him into a share of sixth.
Lowry’s weekend had started badly in parting with that rugby side-bet to Fox, but he’d entered the final round looking for a Sunday charge that never materialised.
The Irishman’s disappointment was conveyed in his body language rather than words, after he declined to speak to the media following a round of 72 for 278 left him in tied-28th.
An eagle on the par 5 17th – where his putt from 18 feet tethered on the hole before dropping – provided a high point for Lowry in a back nine which consisted mainly of lows as he came home in 39 strokes, the journey pot marked by five bogeys.
Instead of speaking to the media, his coach Neil Manchip put his arm around his shoulders on emerging from the recorder’s for the walk back to the sanctuary of the players’ marquee. Not the day he wanted, by any means.
Rory McIlroy’s was not much better, as the Masters champion closed with a 71 for 279 in tied-40th, and he is not expected to play again until the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour next month.
“I sort of stuck in neutral for most of the week. I just felt like any time I got a little bit of momentum out there, I seemed to make a bogey, just one of those weeks I couldn’t get it going,” claimed McIlroy.
Fox, to his credit, stuck gamely to the task at hand. After Young set the clubhouse mark of nine-under, he contrived to cover his closing six holes in three under – four birdies, a bogey and two pars on the stretch – to hit the front for the first time when it truly mattered, with that birdie on the 18th.
The Fabulous Mr Fox had been brilliant off the tee down the stretch, but especially so on the 18th, where his powerful swing – his shirt escaping from his belt with the ferocity of the strike – enabled him to propel the ball 330 yards down the fairway. He followed with an approach from 175 to 12 feet for the critical closing birdie to claim the greatest win of his career.
“I spoke [by phone] to my kids [in Florida] last night, and they said, ‘Bring back a trophy’. I think this is a pretty cool one to bring back for them,” said Fox in accepting his life-changing Claret Jug.
