From agony to ecstasy, how Ryan Fox showed the golf world nice guys can win majors

Monday, 20 July 2026

ANALYSIS: If ever there was a sporting triumph dripping with quintessential Kiwi charm, humility, pragmatism and out-and-out good-bastardness, it had to be Ryan Fox’s magnificent, historic British Open golf victory at Royal Birkdale, completed in the wee small hours of Monday (NZ time).

Throw in equal parts resilience and brilliance, steely decision-making down the stretch, and a series of clutch shots executed to near perfection when the pressure was almost unbearable, and we had ourselves a performance to go down in the annals of New Zealand sporting history as one of the very best we have been privileged to enjoy.

Even better when you intertwine the family history. Ryan, of course, is the son of All Blacks great, and 1987 World Cup champion, Grant Fox. From him he gets his cool disposition and sweet ball-striking. He is also the grandson of Merv Wallace, who reached the heights as both captain and coach of the New Zealand cricket team.

Ryan is a different character than his dad who was meticulously dedicated to his sporting craft, and wound every ounce of talent out of his body through sheer determination and bloody mindedness. The son is more easygoing as a person and a more natural sportsman – one of the hardest spankers of a golf ball on the tour. He only turned pro at the age of 24, because it had taken him until then to feel like he was ready.

But they are both champion blokes. I spoke to Grant on Monday morning and he was bursting with pride. But he wasn’t doing any media interviews, because he did not see it as his place to talk about his son’s golf. We’ve spoken a lot over the years about rugby, and did so again this time, but he was leaving this moment to be Ryan’s, and Ryan’s alone. Fair enough.

Ryan did ring Grant, as soon as he had talked to his wife and kids after walking off the 18th green at Birkdale. It was a typically frank conversation between father and son. To paraphrase, Ryan had assured his father he wasn’t going to blow this situation, that he had this, and talked about the nerve required to choose the clubs, and shots, he did down the stretch.

Golf majors are a big deal. As tough a test as anything in sport. There are only four a year, when 156 of the best ball-strikers on the planet duke it out over four days to find one winner. It’s a battle of attrition, of endurance, of skill and of temperament. Player against player. Player against course. Player against the elements. Player, often enough, against himself. There is a lot to overcome to become a major champion.

Before Fox’s remarkable Birkdale triumph, only two Kiwi men had ever prevailed in a major, Sir Bob Charles winning the same Open Championship in 1963 and Michael Campbell overhauling Tiger Woods to claim the US Open in 2005. The great Dame Lydia Ko has also won three women’s majors.

So, bloody difficult.

Even more so when you make the start Fox did. His opening-round 72 had him tied for 85th, seven strokes back. A second-round 68 sent the world No 56 catapulting up the leaderboard to a tie for 52nd. No one had ever won a major from that far back positionally at the halfway point. They have now, and he’s a laydown misere to win the Halberg because of it.

Fox, who doesn’t mind a punt, was paying $501 to win the Open at the halfway point. Hopefully some Kiwis jumped on that.

Then came the charge – a finish reminiscent of the great Kiwi roaring home from nowhere to claim the 1983 Melbourne Cup. Go you good thing, Foxy. He shot 62 – equalling the record for the lowest round in a men’s major – on Saturday, to roar into a tie for second. Then he stayed in the race through an at times chaotic final round, birdied four of his final six holes, shook off a couple of unlucky bunker lies, and played a near perfect final hole in birdie-three to clinch victory at 10 under.

So, nice guys do finish first. Ryan Fox is probably New Zealand’s most approachable and gregarious high-profile sportsperson. He takes calls. He hits you back on texts. He doesn't hide behind fame, or a busy schedule, or the demands of his craft. He speaks to his people. And he enjoys it.

Not all Kiwi achievers are wired this way. In fact, few are. But Fox is a “good bastard” at heart and somewhere along the way has decided that is not going to change while he plies his trade. He also gives back – heavily involved in charity when back on Kiwi shores, through ventures such as his Chasing the Fox golf tournament and his The Fox fishing tournament.

He’s also tough and resilient. Earlier this year he went down with a kidney stone just before The Players Championship, and it knocked him for a six. The pain, he told me at the time, had been indescribable. It was a momentum snapper and joy sapper.

But, eventually, he regathered and refocused. He felt he’d been ready to contend in a major when that agonising event struck. He knew, deep down, he could get back there.

So the good bugger knuckled down, found his groove, kept his cool and made some history. It simply does not get any better.