tamil yogi
How Fox kept cool at baked Birkdale to win The OpenImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ryan Fox is only the fourth man in the past 30 years to win his first major aged 39 or olderByJonathan Jurejko
As chaos unfolded on Sunday afternoon at the 154th Open Championship, Ryan Fox was the man who kept cool in the baking conditions at Royal Birkdale.
The 39-year-old New Zealander, who is the son of All Black legend Grant, shot a two-under 68 to finish one ahead of American Cameron Young and lift the Claret Jug.
After a final round full of spills and thrills, Fox knew a birdie on the 18th would be enough to secure his first major title.
Easier reported than done. The long par-four had yielded only four birdies all day, but the courageous Fox did not take a step back as he chased down long-time clubhouse leader Young.
Fox grabbed the driver out of the bag and launched a crackerjack of a 330-yard tee-shot into the middle of the fairway.
With 175 yards left, he hit one of the approach shots of his career into the heart of the green.
Then he calmly stepped up and converted the biggest putt of his life from 11 feet.
Fox’s fantastic finish capped a magnificently tight Open which could have gone in any direction on a chaotic and dramatic Sunday.
But the way which Fox played the final hole was a microcosm of his approach to the sport. Unflustered, uncomplicated and done with a minimum of fuss.
After an opening-round 72, Fox was seven strokes behind the lead and in joint 85th place.
A second-round 68 lifted him up to tied 52nd before he propelled himself into contention on Saturday with an eight-under 62, which tied the record for the lowest round at a men’s major tournament.
Fox has made the largest comeback by position after 36 holes at a major in history.
The world number 56 is also the lowest-ranked Open champion since Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke in 2011.
As the drama unfolded on the course, Young unpacked his locker in the Birkdale clubhouse.
The 29-year-old American had already done all he could on the links and set a target of nine under par, which he hoped the rest could not catch.
“I thought 10 [under par] had a decent chance,” he reported after bogeying the final hole.”
Young did not fancy watching the action. Instead he reported he would grab a bite to eat in the players’ restaurant before “packing up my locker just for efficiency’s sake”.
He might have had a Claret Jug – the prize given to the Open champion – to pack and take home, too.
But, as he prepared on the range for a potential play-off, he could hear exactly what Fox had done on the nearby 18th by the cacophony of celebratory cheers.
Young made the most of the scoreable early conditions in Sunday’s final round, shooting a six-under 64 which looked like it might be enough to finish clear of the chasing pack.
Young started his final round more than two hours before the final group went out and, playing in a lighter wind, threatened to shoot a fourth record-equalling round of 62 this week.
A poor bogey on the 18th – driving into a fairway bunker and hitting the lip of it with his second shot, finding the greenside sand with his third, before almost chipping in – ended his chances of adding to that history.
While it ultimately damaged his hopes of becoming a first-time major champion, Young pointed to a one-over 73 on Saturday as the reason why he fell short.
“I walk away feeling like I could have won with a C-plus day in there,” he reported.
“Not that the golf was bad, but the first couple days were fine. If you give those a high B, a C-plus day, and really an A day today, I ended up feeling I had a chance to win with not everything I’ve got.”
✔ today silver rate
✔ 2026 winter olympics
✔ chat gtp
✔ silver rate today
✔ silver rate today live
✔ 2030 winter olympics
Sports
