07/19/26 03:56:00
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07/19 15:54 CDT Ryan Fox wins the British Open with a birdie on the final hole
Ryan Fox wins the British Open with a birdie on the final hole
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
SOUTHPORT, England (AP) --- The hard work for Ryan Fox was just getting to the
18th hole in the British Open with a share of the lead. Still to come was the
toughest hole at Royal Birkdale, which had yielded only four birdies to the 76
players who had already come through Sunday.
For a 39-year-old from New Zealand, the son of an All Blacks rugby star who
once only dreamed of having a card on any tour, this was no time to back down.
"I did say to my caddie Dean (Smith) that we were going to take it on, that I
was going to try to win the tournament, and I'd live with the consequences if I
stuffed it up," Fox said.
It turned out to be the stuff of major champions.
The drive was powerful and pure. The 9-iron from 175 yards looked good in the
air and even better on the ground when it settled 12 feet below the hole. The
birdie putt was the biggest of his life.
Fox closed with four birdies over his last six holes --- and one bogey that
felt equally important --- for a 2-under 68 and a one-shot victory over
hard-luck Cameron Young for his first major title.
This was pure theater to cap off a week of so much drama --- three record-tying
rounds of 62, Bryson DeChambeau's animated protest over a two-shot penalty,
Tommy Fleetwood thrilling and teasing his hometown crowd to massive ovations on
every hole.
Four players had a share of the lead at some point in the final round. Young
was atop the leaderboard for two hours without hitting a shot anywhere but the
range because he finished his astonishing 6-under 64 as the last few groups
were on the front nine.
Young was on the range when he heard the massive roar and knew it was over. He
bowed his head, lifted his driver and tapped the ground before packing up when
Fox made his final birdie.
"Everyone practices on the green --- you've got a putt to win a major
championship, to win The Open. It's not like that in real life. It's not a very
comfortable feeling," Fox said. "It's certainly very enjoyable when you see it
go in."
He thrust those powerful arms into the air and was on the phone with his family
moments later and was heard telling them, "You asked me to bring a trophy home,
and I am, aren't I?"
His name will go on the base of that shiny claret jug along with another Kiwi,
Bob Charles, who won the British Open in 1963. Michael Campbell is the other
New Zealand man to win a major at Pinehurst No. 2 in the 2005 U.S. Open.
Fox's sterling moment brought more disappointment for Young. The American also
finished one shot behind in the British Open at St. Andrews four years ago, and
he had a Sunday lead on the front nine at the Masters until Rory McIlroy
overtook him.
"I gave it everything I had all the way through," Young said when he finished.
He declined interviews when Fox ended the 154th Open.
Sam Burns, the 54-hole leader who was never planning to be at the Open until
his wife gave birth to their daughter earlier than expected, lost a two-shot
lead and didn't make birdie over the last 12 holes to finish two shots behind.
"I just couldn't find them today. Just didn't have my best stuff," Burns said.
"Given the circumstances, I'm very pleased with the week. I'm looking forward
to being home."
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler somehow managed to stick around until the
end, getting two bad bounces that cost him momentum, then getting one big break
for a most improbable birdie. He closed with a 67 and shared fourth with
Fleetwood, who fell back early but delivered a birdie-birdie finish for a 68.
Missing from all drama, remarkably, was DeChambeau. He lost a golf ball and
made triple bogey on the 11th hole and didn't make a birdie until he was well
out of contention. That two-shot penalty he received Friday for improving the
path of his swing wasn't an issue at the end. DeChambeau shot a 72 and tied for
14th.
Fox won for the 10th time worldwide, his biggest title before Sunday coming at
the BMW PGA Championship in 2023. He is the oldest first-time major champion
since Henrik Stenson was 40 at Royal Troon 10 years ago.
Fox finished at 10-under 270, got his hands on the jug and heard those magic
words when he was introduced as the "Champion Golfer of the Year."
"I'm not quite sure how I hit that putt on 18. Look, it is a dream come true,"
Fox said. "Looking at that trophy now, it's the first time I've seen it up
close. So it's pretty amazing."
Young was flawless until the final hole, his tee shot finding a pot bunker. He
tried to open the face of a 6-iron but caught it thin and it smacked into the
vetted wall and into the rough. He hit the next shot into a greenside bunker
and nearly holed it for par. The bogey put him at 9-under 271.
Burns was losing ground quickly on the front nine with three straight bogeys,
none more damaging than a pitch to the reachable par-4 fifth hole that went
over the back of the green.
Si Woo Kim emerged as the leader going to the back nine until he made bogeys on
the 11th and 12th holes, and he fell out of contention for good with a pair of
late bogeys that added to a 40 on the back nine for 72.
That left Young at the top of the leaderboard, waiting to see if anyone could
match him.
Fox's hopes took a nasty turn on the par-3 15th when his tee shot caromed off
the side of a bunker and settled next to the lip, leaving him no stance and no
shot. He smartly played away from the back pin to the fairway, chipped from 45
yards away to 6 feet and made bogey.
It was as big as any shot he hit until the last.
"To get that up-and-down really kept the momentum going," Fox said. "I felt a
whole lot better walking off that green making bogey that way than probably
even if I'd have made par."
Fox was a late bloomer, a European tour rookie at age 30 and a PGA Tour rookie
when he was 37. His goal when he started was to have a tour card. Now he's a
major champion.
"I said to my team last night at dinner, if you'd have given me my career up
until yesterday when I turned pro, I'd have jumped at that," Fox said, speaking
with the claret jug at his side. "I don't know what to think now."
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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