Golf

Ryan Fox Birdies the Last to Win The Open: New Zealander Claims First Major at 39 in Royal Birkdale Thriller

By Marcus Reyes · July 21, 2026 · 5:33 am

Ryan Fox birdies the last hole to win The Open Championship 2026 at Royal Birkdale claiming his first major title at the age of 39 in a dramatic and thrilling final round at the prestigious golf major. — What a moment for Ryan Fox and New Zealand! The 39-year-old claimed his first Major title in the most dramatic fashion possible, birdieing the last hole at Royal Birkdale to win The Open Championship 2026.

Royal Birkdale, Southport — Ryan Fox is the Champion Golfer of the Year. The 39-year-old New Zealander produced one of the great finishes in recent Open history, rolling in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win the 154th Open Championship by a single shot — and claim the first major title of his career.

Final leaderboard

1. Ryan Fox (NZL) — 10 under
2. Cameron Young (USA) — 9 under
3. Sam Burns (USA) — 8 under
T4. Scottie Scheffler (USA) & Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)

A Sunday of drama

The final round was a genuine shootout. Cameron Young mounted a ferocious charge, making four birdies in the closing six holes to post a clubhouse target that looked like it might be enough. Fox, though, refused to blink. Coming to the 18th needing a birdie to avoid a play-off, he struck his approach to 12 feet and holed the putt to snatch the Claret Jug by one.

Sam Burns, who had led entering the final day, finished alone in third at eight under, while world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and home favourite Tommy Fleetwood shared fourth — Fleetwood again coming close at a venue where English hopes ran high all week.

A breakthrough long in the making

Fox’s victory is a triumph of persistence. At 39, and after years as a respected but unheralded presence on tour, he becomes only the third New Zealander ever to win a golf major — a landmark moment for the game in his country. That he did it on a links as demanding as Royal Birkdale, and with a closing birdie under maximum pressure, only adds to the achievement.

The verdict

Round 1 had belonged to Jackson Suber’s opening 65, and Scheffler’s early charge suggested the world No. 1 would take some stopping. Instead, the week produced a champion few had pencilled in — proof that Open weeks, with their wind, their bounces and their brutal finishing holes, remain the least predictable major of them all. Ryan Fox’s name now sits on the Claret Jug, and few will begrudge him it.

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