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How fast Fox trumped divisive DeChambeau to win OpenFigure caption, ‘What a way to take it’ – best of Fox’s Open winning final roundByIain Carter
Commentating on the thrilling climax of this year’s Open, there was barely a moment to describe the biggest putt of Ryan Fox’s life because he struck it so quickly.
There were only 22 seconds between Sam Burns completing his final round and Fox stroking home the 11-footer on Royal Birkdale’s 18th green. The putt made him champion golfer of the year.
It provided a magnificent and wholesome climax to the 154th Open, a dramatic championship marked by class and controversy.
Bryson DeChambeau’s two-shot penalty for trampling rough that improved the line of his swing path last Friday will not be forgotten. It was another incident that illustrated why he has become golf’s most divisive figure.
But something else that should live long in the memory is Fox’s fantastic triumph, a victory for a late developer who plays the game at a wonderful pace.
“He proved you can win The Open without all the faffing about,” was a succinct assessment by our 5 Live editor on site, and it is hard to disagree.
It was a joy to walk all 18 holes of Sunday’s final round with Fox and the time-efficient Burns playing at such a brisk pace.
“See shot, hit shot. That’s always been my philosophy,” Fox told BBC Sport while clutching the Claret Jug.
Of course, the new champion is exceptional and it would be wholly unrealistic to expect other players to compete at his pace.
But there are plenty of slowcoaches for whom the prescribed 40 seconds (50 if you are first to play) allowed for hitting is often ignored. The game could do with them trying harder to get closer to Fox’s example.
“I played with Scottie Scheffler earlier in the year,” reported Fox. “At Phoenix, and we’re in a three-ball on the Saturday.
“We walk off the ninth tee, and he goes, Foxy, it doesn’t even feel like you’re in the group. It just feels like we’re playing in a two-ball, you hit it so fast.”
Fox contends it is not difficult for him to play efficiently. “I just see the shot quickly,” he reported. “Pick a shot quickly, and the less time I have to think about it, the less bad stuff can creep in there.”
Potentially damaging doubts were held at bay in weekend rounds of 62 and 68 capped by the quick-fire putt that sealed the championship.
It was the first time since Tom Watson in 1977 that a 72nd green birdie had secured golf’s oldest and grandest title by a single shot.
This was quite the moment to elevate the sun-kissed event above the DeChambeau controversy which had threatened to overshadow the week.
Why DeChambeau was hit with a two‑stroke penalty at The Open
Views varied among players as to whether he had breached Rule 8.1 by being heavy-footed around the area of his ball in the long grass to the right of the fifth hole during Friday’s second round.
Several American golfers stood up for the LIV player, prime among them Scheffler, who insisted that DeChambeau is “not a cheater”.
But this was not an issue over whether he deliberately cheated. The issue was whether he had broken a rule and officials deemed that it was a “clear-cut” breach.
DeChambeau’s angry reaction, delaying signing his card and therefore denying the rest of the field knowledge of their Saturday tee times was not a good look.
And there was a report that DeChambeau threatened to get US President Donald Trump involved in his 30-minute conversation with rules officials.
The friends have played golf together and Trump had already been involved in one high-profile sporting controversy in July, when he controversially asked football governing body Fifa to review United States striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension at the World Cup.
Balogun’s ban was suspended, allowing him to play in their last-16 defeat by Belgium.
When I asked R&A chief executive Mark Darbon on Saturday if Trump had been in touch, he replied that he had not.
DeChambeau continues to divide opinion. His legions of fans will feel he was hard done by and it was remarkable to witness the warm reception he received on Saturday after he had been docked those two shots.
He does things his own way and there are times, like last week, when that makes him appear self-absorbed – a trait that does not usually play well in a golf locker room.
Rory McIlroy made it abundantly clear, even if saying that he is “not fond” of the two time US Open champion is probably a considerable understatement.
DeChambeau blanked the media all week despite being in contention and in the spotlight.
Perhaps we will hear from him at LIV’s event at the JCB Club in Staffordshire later this week, when the reporting contingent will be significantly smaller. Or maybe his views will be kept for his self curated YouTube channel.
He is as unique as his uniform length clubs and undoubtedly brings much needed character to the game.
Can you believe it? – Best shots from final round of The Open
But so too do figures such as Fox. Yes, he comes from New Zealand sporting royalty, the son of All Blacks legend Grant Fox and grandson of former Kiwi cricket captain Merv Wallace but he is a self made star.
The new Open champion was 24 when he turned professional and has become a major winner only after going through the hard yards of an unforgiving pro game.
“My second year on the Aussie Tour, I was pretty close to giving it up,” Fox reported. “I remember getting to the Aussie Masters at Royal Melbourne.
“It was the second-to-last event of the year. I had just missed the cut at the Aussie PGA badly. My dad came over and caddied for me, and he reported to me, why do you play this game?
“And I reported, well, it’s supposed to be fun. But it wasn’t really very fun at the time. He goes, well, let’s just go out this week and try to have some fun.”
They did. Fox finished fifth, kept his card and clung on to a path that brought wins on the DP World Tour, PGA Tour and now the Open Championship.
In contrast to DeChambeau, he is a unanimously popular figure among his peers. And his pacy brand of golf is great fun to watch.
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