Ryan Fox savours Open Championship win after stunning Royal Birkdale finish
The reality of becoming a major golf champion is still sinking in for New Zealander Ryan Fox after his Open Championship triumph.
The 39-year-old sank a birdie on the final hole to claim the coveted Claret Jug in the 154th edition at Royal Birkdale and he has been in celebration mode since.
In the aftermath, Fox poured a Bordeaux red wine into the trophy, had to empty it for interviews and photos, then quickly filled it again.
After spending most of the night celebrating and getting little to no sleep, Fox is already back at his home base in Florida, the United States, where he plans to take some time off to recuperate before returning to the course.
Images on social media showed Fox boarding a flight from Manchester to London with the trophy case, which went into the overhead locker after some difficulty. He also sat next to Cam Young, the man he pipped to secure the famous win.
Ryan Fox is flying home with the Claret Jug in the overhead bin. Cam Young is sitting right in front of him.
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) July 20, 2026
What a flex. pic.twitter.com/DUNPS4SyA3
Speaking on Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast, Fox admitted he spent most of the night celebrating before heading to the airport.
“I’ve been in better shape, to be honest, but it’s all worth it,” Fox said.
“We finished up about 3am, and I had a pickup at 4.15 to go to the airport in Manchester, so I decided at that point I wasn’t going to bed, and it was going to be easier to pull an all-nighter and hopefully get some sleep on the plane from London to Miami, which I kind of failed at.
“Every time I put my head down, my head was still spinning, not necessarily from the alcohol, more from just what had transpired over the last 24 hours or so.”
Fox was tied for 52nd at the halfway stage of the tournament but surged into contention after equalling the lowest single-round score in major golf history with a 62.
He held his nerve in the final round, coming up clutch down the stretch to put his name alongside Sir Bob Charles, Michael Campbell, and Dame Lydia Ko as New Zealand’s only major golf winners.
Victory also opens doors for Fox.
Along with pocketing $3.2 million ($5.48m) of the record $17.75m purse, he rises to a career-best 22nd in the Official World Golf Ranking and is exempt into The Open until the age of 55 and into the next five editions of the other three majors. His PGA Tour membership exemption as the Open champion extends to 2031.
Fox also gets to keep the Claret Jug for a year and has been given a slightly smaller replica, although he is yet to see it.
“I know that my life is going to change pretty significantly,” Fox said.
“I’ve got an idea of what’s coming in terms of golf, but no idea how it affects off the golf course yet and some of the opportunities that arise and all the extra stuff that I’m going to have to do.
“I don’t think it’ll change where we live or what we do, I think we’re pretty happy with all of that, but it just does open a lot of doors going forward and I’m looking forward to seeing what some of those doors are, to be honest. I don’t even know where to start thinking about it.”
Fox has been bombarded with congratulatory messages in the aftermath of his win, but one that stood out came from Ko.
In a video posted on The Open’s social media accounts, Ko congratulates Fox from a golf course while he sits at a table with the trophy and a glass of red wine in hand.
“Hello, Champion Golfer of the Year,” Ko said. “I was crying.”
Fox replied: “I still don’t know what’s going on,” before wishing Ko the best of luck for the Women’s Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes, which starts later this month.
Fox said he can’t wait to bring the trophy back to New Zealand.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.