Ryan Fox has just achieved what no New Zealander had managed in 63 years. And for a moment, the enormity of it left him searching for words. The 39-year-old closed out the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale with a birdie at the 18th hole. He has become just the second golfer from New Zealand to lift the Claret Jug, following Bob Charles in 1963. But the moment that cut through the noise of celebration came minutes later, when Fox sat down on a couch backstage, picked up his phone, called home, and spoke to his wife and kids.

“You asked me to bring a trophy home, and I am, aren’t I?”

Fox laughed through what looked like the beginning of tears as he held his phone to FaceTime his daughter and wife. Still processing what he had just achieved, Fox admitted, in tears, touching his forehead, that the win hadn’t fully sunk in yet.

🤔 golf trivia

This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

How Many Kiwi Golfers Have Won a Major?

3451

Oops, bogey!

But don’t worry, there’s still the back 9 to prove your high golf IQ

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“I don’t know what to think right now. I don’t know how I hit that last putt, to be honest,” he told his family.

Fox and his wife Anneke have two daughters; their second was born in May 2023.

Fox arrived Sunday tied for the lead after matching the lowest major-championship round with a third-round 62. He had carried that form into the final round, where the lead changed hands repeatedly as Sam Burns, Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler, and Cameron Young all took turns atop the board. Cameron Young was chasing his first major and had already finished with a 64 and was watching from the clubhouse as Fox played the closing hole.

Fox had a mixed front nine: par on 1, a birdie on 2, and a bogey on 9.

On the back nine, Fox surged with four birdies in six holes, despite two back-nine bogeys. A near miss at the par-5 17th left him just short of the outright lead. The deciding moment came on the 18th.

Fox’s approach landed 11.5 feet from the pin—a makeable birdie distance. After his playing partner Sam Burns tapped in for par, Fox rolled in the birdie putt to finish 10-under, one shot clear of Young, and threw both arms in the air as the putt dropped.

The grandstands cheered as he made the final putt and gave a tight hug to his caddie. As he lifted the Claret Jug—his first major—Fox delivered an emotional speech.

“Oh wow, I don’t really know what to think at the moment. I’ve got a lot of people to thank. First of all, my family. My wife and kids are in Florida at the moment. I spoke to my kids last night, and they said, ‘Bring back a trophy. I think that’s a pretty cool one to bring back for them. My family is back in New Zealand, and all my supporters are back there. I know it’s been a long ride for them, but I’m glad it was worthwhile. My team, you guys put in so much hard work, and I wouldn’t be here without you guys, the R&A, the Royal Birkdale, and everyone who’s made this event what it is. Just an unbelievable week.”

This is Fox’s first major at 39, though not his first PGA Tour victory. He broke through in 2025 at the ONEFlight Myrtle Beach Classic and then backed it up with a playoff win over Burns at the RBC Canadian Open. It made him the first New Zealander to win twice on the PGA Tour in the same season. And now, he’s beaten big names like Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm to lift the Claret Jug and claim a winner’s share of $3.2 million.