Ryan Fox stood on the tee of the challenging 18th hole at Royal Birkdale knowing a par would put him in playoff for the Open Championship against Cameron Young.
Fox has loftier ambitions than a playoff, not deterred by the fact the hole routinely ranks as one of the hardest on the entire Open rotation.
“I stood on the tee and said to my caddie Dean, we’re going to try to win this,” Fox said.
And win it he did, delivering a perfect drive down the middle and a pinpoint iron to just 11 feet to set up the epic putt for birdie.
“I was shaking,” Fox admitted on the final putt. “I was just trying to get it up there near the hole. It looked pretty straight, and thankfully it dove in that left edge. Yeah, it’s crazy. I don’t really know what to think. I don’t know how I managed to keep the putter face square enough for that to go online, but I’ll take it.”
It was the fourth birdie in the final six holes for Fox, delivering a first major championship for the 39-year-old after the entire afternoon looked like a crowning for Young.
Young started the fourth round seven shots off Sam Burns’ lead but blitzed the course early with a 6-under 64 to post 9-under for the championship. He then watched from the clubhouse for over two hours as the contenders faltered one by one, leaving just Fox as his only threat.
The New Zealander was more than up for the challenge, making a clutch bogey on 15 after having to hit backwards out of a bunker, and pouring in a birdie on 16. That made a playoff likely before he capped an incredible weekend run with the electric finish.
Position
Player
Total to par
Round 4 score
1
Ryan Fox
-10
68
2
Cameron Young
-9
64
3
Sam Burns
-8
72
T-4
Scottie Scheffler
-7
67
T-4
Tommy Fleetwood
-7
68
T-6
Si Woo Kim
-6
72
T-6
Casey Jarvis
-6
66
T-6
Lucas Herbert
-6
71
Fox hoisting the Claret Jug looked virtually impossible entering the weekend as he sat tied for 52nd through two rounds. But scorched the course Saturday to tie the lowest round in major history with an 8-under 62, booking a spot in the final group alongside Burns.
His birdie-binge to finish Sunday gave him 14 over his final two rounds and completed the largest 36-hole comeback in the history of men’s major championship golf, according to Justin Ray of the Twenty First Group.
While Young falling short didn’t come as a surprise given the massive deficit he entered the day with, Burns’ finish looked familiar to golf fans who have watched major championships over the last few years.
While the setback will sting, it’s the latest in an excellent run for Burns in major championships. He’s now posted top-7 finishes in four of his last six majors and has become a mainstay on the first page of the leaderboard in golf’s biggest events.
Not bad for a guy who previously gave himself a “zero percent chance” of even playing in The Open with his wife initially expected to give birth to their daughter this week. Burns didn’t even decide he could play until Friday after his daughter arrived two weeks early and his wife encouraged him to make the trip to England.
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