I’m old enough to remember watching the 2005 US Open at Pinehurst No.2, where Kiwi Michael Campbell withstood the Tiger juggernaut to become just the 2nd New Zealand man to win a major title (the first being Sir Bob Charles at the Open back in 1963).
That victory didn’t lead to the type of golfing explosion you might have anticipated in sports-mad New Zealand (though Lydia Ko did her part on the women’s tour). Enter stage right: Ryan Fox. The burly, no-nonsense pro from the land of the long white cloud delivered a shock for the ages this past weekend, producing a history-making comeback to win his maiden major title at the Open Championship. The 39-year-old showed nerves of steel to haul in Cameron Young in one of the most exciting Open finishes in some time.
Some links pedigree
The 39-year-old pro has the type of mercurial talent that has seen him win wherever he played. The nomadic Fox has multiple wins on numerous tours, winning two PGA Tour titles preceding this event. But there was nothing really about this season that hinted at this late-season breakthrough (he was ranked 56th in the world going into Birkdale). Still, the big-hitting Fox has always had a penchant for links layouts, winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship back in 2022. Fox’s rugby playing background gives him a uniquely powerful core that allows him to bully the ball through prevailing links conditions. Even so, it was always going to be a struggle for him against marquee names such as Scheffler and McIlroy.
Fox-trotting up the leaderboard
Fox never started the tournament well, going into the weekend tied for 52nd! He absolutely lit things up on moving-day, shooting a major-record 62 to vault into a surprise final-group pairing with Sam Burns. Yesterday was a crazy day at Birkdale, with as many as five different players sharing the lead at some point or another. Cameron Young separated himself from the pack in the closing stages, closing with 64 while the campaigns of Si Woo Kim and Sam Burns crumbled. Fox fell back of Young’s clubhouse lead with bogey at the 15th but showed remarkable courage to bounce back on the very next hole. The final hole was textbook Fox. The New Zealander piped his drive 330 yards down the fairway and then hit his approach to just outside of ten feet. He addressed his putt in typically expedient fashion, quickly rolling it in before the demons had chances to fester. It was a magnificent victory in what was a wonderfully competitive antidote to the last two majors.
A tale of two nearly-men
It really felt like it was Cameron Young’s time. The swashbuckling American did virtually everything right yesterday, surging up the leaderboard to post a visually imposing 9-under-par clubhouse lead (that bogey at the last would come back to bite him). Other challengers faded and it just felt like time for Young to finally realize his major potential. How much will this near-miss hurt going forward? I think it could be devastating. Sure, he looked locked and loaded at this year’s Masters, but the Rory factor was always there bubbling in the background. He just looked in complete control in yesterday’s closing stages.
Sam Burns is the nearly-man that doesn’t get discussed often enough. I’ll admit, I have been guilty of just clean forgetting about him in some of my pre-tournament rankings lists (he just isn’t one of those guys that sticks in the mind). The unassuming Burns has been knocking on the door vehemently this year, finishing T7 at Augusta before a solo 2nd finish at Shinnecock Hills. He created a crazy bit of history from Friday through Saturday, shooting the lowest consecutive rounds in major history (62 and 65). He just couldn’t get things going at all yesterday, failing to make a single birdie from the 2nd onwards.
Bryson makes it all about him
Hey, at least Bryson made the cut this week. There were some- myself included- who gave DeChambeau very little chance this week. He missed the cut in all three of this year’s majors and arrived at a course that is notoriously difficult for bombers to dismantle. But he looked dangerously assured over the first two days, going in just one shot off the lead after a birdie-birdie finish on Friday. But he received a rude awakening at the close of play, as a rules official informed him he was receiving a two-shot warning for a rule infraction. He was adjudged to have inadvertently improved his lie on the par-4 5th (he appeared to accidentally flatten out the area hampering his backswing as he addressed the ball).
LIV tax?
DeChambeau went to review the footage and was seen pleading with the officials in almost embarrassing scenes. LIV’s big dog briefly threatened to leave the tournament but mustered up the composure to stick around. I really don’t know exactly how to feel about the incident. It looked innocuous at first, but you can see what the officials were getting at. I just wonder if Rory would have got the same treatment. Bryson is essentially the Darth Vader of golf in these parts and always comes in for that extra little bit of scrutiny. At least the tournament ended in spectacular fashion, making the whole incident more of an entertaining side-quest than anything else.
