Ryan Fox delivers for his daughters by taking home Claret Jug
Kiwi used to get up in middle of night to watch Open - and now he’s the Champion Golfer of the Year
Ryan Fox delivered for his two daughters after they asked him to “bring home a trophy” as he became just the second Kiwi to claim the Claret Jug by winning The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale.
The Florida-based 39-year-old birdied the 72nd hole at the Southport venue to pip American Cameron Young by a shot, emulating compatriot Bob Charles after the left-hander claimed the title at Royal Lytham in 1963.
Fox, a former Dunhill Links winner on Scottish soil, also joined former US Open champion Michael Campbell as a men’s major winner from New Zealand, with Lydia Ko having landed three of the marquee titles in the women’s game, including the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews two years ago.
Referring to daughters Isobel and Margot, Fox said: “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!”
Young, the runner-up at St Andrews in 2022, threatened to come from seven shots behind to win on this occasion after firing a best-of-the-day 64 only to be pipped at the death as Fox holed an 11-foot birdie putt at the last to triumph on ten under.
“It's something you dream of,” added the new Champion Golfer of the Year. “I used to get up in the middle of the night to watch this tournament back home.
“It was always something that was there just to be able to play in it, first up, and now to be an Open champion,it's unbelievable, surreal, crazy. I don't have enough words in my vocabulary to explain it, to be honest.”
Meanwhile, world No 1 Scottie Scheffler aired his views on Bryson DeChambeau’s two-shot penalty in the first round after coming up just short in his bid to become the first player to successfully defend the Claret Jug since Padraig Harrington in 2008.
“I've known him for a long time, and he's a lot of things, but he's definitely not a cheater,” said Scheffler, who, nonetheless, believes the incident has highlighted a a problem in golf at the top level.
“I think we need to kind of get back to the traditions of the game and maybe we do need to police things a little bit more stricter,” he added. “I feel like sometimes you see players maybe push it a little bit further than they should (with the rules).”
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