Ryan Fox of New Zealand rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole to win the 154th Open Championship by one stroke over Cameron Young on Sunday at Royal Birkdale.
Fox, 39, the son of legendary All Blacks rugby player Grant Fox, shot 2-under 68 to finish at 10-under par and claim his first major championship — and the title of Champion Golfer of the Year. He became the third Kiwi to win a major, joining Bob Charles (1963 Open) and Michael Campbell (2005 US Open).
How He Won It
Fox tied the course record and equaled the lowest 18-hole score in men’s major championship history with an 8-under 62 on Saturday to climb into contention. On Sunday, he fell to 7-under with a bogey at No. 11, then birdied four of his final six holes. The winning putt came from 10 feet at the par-4 18th after a perfect 8-iron from the fairway.
Cameron Young rallied from seven strokes back at the start of the day, shooting 6-under 64 with a front-nine 29. He reached 10-under with a birdie at 17, then gambled with driver at the difficult 18th — found a pot bunker, and made bogey. Young was clubhouse leader for nearly two hours before Fox’s closing birdie.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler birdied 16 and 17 to climb within one, but his birdie putt from off the green at 18 slid past for bogey and a 67. He finished T-4 alongside Tommy Fleetwood.
Toptracer Gets Its Biggest Stage
The 154th Open marked the largest Toptracer activation in championship history: 30 simulators across 6 locations at Royal Birkdale, QR codes on practice tee boxes delivering live shot data to fans for the first time ever at a major, and the Toptracer Global Challenge running at 1,450+ ranges in 38 countries.
The Global Challenge’s 241-yard par-3 15th hole saw thousands of entries, with the grand prize of two tickets to The 155th Open at St Andrews plus a round on the Old Course.
What This Means for Sim Golf
Fox’s victory is the kind of story that resonates with the sim golf community: a late bloomer (no top-15s in 29 prior majors), a course-record 62 that players can replay on GSPro, and Claret Jug glory that will inspire home sim owners to tackle Royal Birkdale all week. You can play Royal Birkdale on GSPro right now, and play St Andrews on GSPro for the full Open rota experience.
The Open Championship has become the single best marketing vehicle for indoor golf — and this year, with the World Cup final immediately following Sunday’s finish, the exposure was unprecedented.
Final Leaderboard
| Place | Player | Score | To Par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Fox | 72-68-62-68=270 | -10 |
| 2 | Cameron Young | 67-67-73-64=271 | -9 |
| 3 | Sam Burns | 73-62-65-72=272 | -8 |
| T4 | Scottie Scheffler | 68-68-70-67=273 | -7 |
| T4 | Tommy Fleetwood | 69-67-69-68=273 | -7 |
| T6 | Si Woo Kim | 67-70-67-70=274 | -6 |
| T6 | Lucas Herbert | 72-62-70-70=274 | -6 |
Related: 154th Open Day 1: Perfect Weather, Toptracer QR Debut · Round 2: Herbert & Burns Make History with 62s · Moving Day: Fox’s Record 62 · Play Royal Birkdale on GSPro
Source:The Open / R&ARead original →
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