Ryan Fox is officially your Champion Golfer of the Year.
Fox, who started the day two shots back of Sam Burns’ 54-hole lead, posted a final-round 68 at Royal Birkdale to post 10-under and earn his first major title at the Open Championship. His round included birdies on four of his final six holes — including a 3 at the last to clinch the title — as he becomes just the third man from New Zealand to win a major championship.
Entering the week, few had Fox on their shortlist of contenders at the year’s final major. But after 72 holes of spectacular golf (including a record-tying 62 on Saturday) he will be immortalized forever with his name engraved on the Claret Jug.
Here are four things to know about the 39-year-old.
1. His father was a rugby star
Growing up in New Zealand, Fox was raised in a family of athletes. His father, Grant Fox, was a rugby star and played for the national All Blacks team that won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, while his grandfather, Merv Wallace, was a legendary cricket player in his own right.
“I grew up in a sporting household,” Fox said on the Fried Egg podcast in 2024. “Always wanted to play sport. Always had a ball of some description … I would’ve said cricket was one, rugby was two and tennis was three for me growing up.”
2. He started golf late
With cricket, rugby and tennis occupying his interest as a kid, Fox did not start seriously playing golf until much later in life than some of his contemporaries. He didn’t pick up a club until he was 10, and didn’t join a club until he was 13. But as he got older, he began to realize that golf was the sport he most enjoyed playing.
By the time he turned 18, he had begun competing in amateur events, and two years later, he qualified for the New Zealand national team. A few years after that, he decided it was time to turn pro.
“I’d always wanted to be a professional sportsman,” Fox told CNN. “It just took a fair while to figure out what sport it was going to be.”
3. He’s a global player
Fox may have gotten a late start in the game, but he made up for lost time quickly. Early on in his career, he cut his teeth on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Challenge Tour, and in 2019, won for the first time on the DP World Tour with a victory at the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth. He since won three times on the PGA Tour (including this Open) and has represented New Zealand three times in the Olympics.
4. He’s never top-10’d in a major — until now
Heading into Royal Birkdale, Fox had never seen much success at the biggest events on golf’s calendar. Entering the week, his best major finish was a T16 at the 2016 Open Championship, and he’d only finished inside the top 25 three other times. But, with one magical week, he’ll now be forever immortalized in golf lore.
