I LEFT off last week’s article with the first round of The Open Championship in the books. Jackson Suber was in the lead, followed by a host of players. Day 2 saw a better round for crowd favourite Rory McIlroy. He followed up his first round +2 with a -3 day two to get to red numbers.
The second day however belonged to two players-Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns. Both proved that great play makes it possible to shoot record scores, with the two scoring -8 62s.
Bryson DeChambeau played another solid round to back-up his opening 67 with another under par round of 66. He finished the second round just shy of the lead…until he was informed of a penalty he was being assessed.
Bryson being Bryson, he wasn’t letting this go without a fight and a whole lot of drama. The penalty stems from his perceived improvement of his lie when his ball went into the deep stuff at hole 5.
While looking at his lie and building a stance, he was deemed to have improved his lie when he trampled on tall grass behind his ball. This improved his swing path, ‘moving’ the tall grass which would have been a hindrance to making a normal backswing. Opinions are mixed but a ruling was made and Bryson really had no choice.
Day 3
ON moving day, it was New Zealand’s Ryan Fox who came out firing. He recorded his own record-tying 62 and shot up the leaderboard. Local darling Tommy Fleetwood plays another solid round and gets near the lead. Sam Burns takes outright lead with steady play, going 4-under in the front nine.
It seems like each day, someone can go low. This shows the depth of the fields in professional golf nowadays. Consistency separates top players from rest but talent-wise, no one is dominating. As a result, everyone knows that with four good rounds, anyone has a chance to win. Gone are the days when top dogs can intimidate whole fields.
Final round
SAM BURNS started at -10, two shots clear of Ryan Fox and Si Woo Kim. The chasing pack made moves early, led by Cam Young shooting a 5-under 29 on Royal Birkdale’s opening nine. As in previous rounds, the course played tough but scoreable. There were a number of record 62s, with frontrunners Burns and Fox both recording their own 62s in previous rounds.
In my opinion, links golf is how the game was really meant to be played. Great rounds are rewarded, while sloppy play gets penalized. The course plays difficult but low scores can still be had. Unlike some US Opens where growing the rough and baking out greens ’til they’re rock hard is supposed to be a source of pride for being the ‘toughest test,’ Open Championships are fairer tests where birdies can be made as are doubles and triples.
I also like how the RandA keeps courses looking natural-brown when dry, green when it’s been raining before Open week. While the perfectly manicured surroundings of Augusta National is great on TV, we all know it’s artificial, like an airbrushed, edited, touched-up version of a golf course. Au naturel Open venues are a refreshing break from picture perfect courses.
But going back to the golf, I think the most difficult thing in golf is keeping a lead. The mentality shifts from trying to score low to managing your round. Instead of attacking, leaders often get defensive, playing ‘commercial’ shots, settling for pars. Sam Burns isn’t new to being in the driver’s seat on the final day of a major.
At the 2025 US Open, he was leading until a bad break and and even worse call from officials caused his round to unravel and gave way to JJ Spaun. This time with the lead at Royal Birkdale, he started with a steady par at the first and a tidy birdie at the second. A good start. But just after back-to-back bogeys on 4 and 5, Burns finds himself not only caught, but replaced by Korean Si Woo Kim at the top.
By the home 9, it was Si Woo Kim on top at 10-under. Just a shot back and at the clubhouse was Cam Young after a 64 even with an unfortunate bogey on his 72nd hole. At another major venue, sitting at the clubhouse one shot back would mean the end of the week. But crazier things have happened at majors and bogeys and worse are scattered all over Royal Birkdale.
As it turned out, that was exactly what happened. After Cameron Young completed his round, Si Woo Kim slowly made mistakes one after the other and lost the lead, and then some. Sam Burns’ efforts just wouldn’t get repaid. Burns wasn’t hitting terrible shots. But his body language didn’t convey confidence or willingness to claw back. He looked dejected most of the day. He would have chances but just couldn’t seem to get over losing the lead early.
Ryan Fox, the gritty Kiwi was the only one left to mount a charge. Fox isn’t one to back down and it showed. After narrowly missing the green on the par 3 14th, his ball ended up by the wall of the greenside pot bunker. With no stance and swing, he had to play sideways and back. With nerves of steel, he managed to save bogey and promptly birdied the 16th to get the lost shot back.
On the par five 17th, tied for the lead, he again had a terrible break when his lay-up iron off the tee again trickled into a fairway bunker preventing him to go for the green. But he still had a makeable birdie that just slipped by. Needing a birdie on the last to win or at least a par to force a playoff, Fox threaded his drive down the narrow landing area and had a great chance to stick his approach shot close.
Burns, just one back of clubhouse leader Cam Young, could still catch him with a birdie at the last. He also made a good drive at the last hole and had a chance to join Young at -9.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
RYAN FOX, the 39 year-old New Zealander, is no stranger to gritty wins all over the world. Even though he’s a latecomer to the PGA Tour, he quickly proved that he belongs by winning at the highest level.
He’s won The BMW at Wentworth, Europe’s top tournament, as well as The Alfred Dunhill Links. On the PGA Tour, he won at Myrtle Beach in 2025 and again at the 2025 RBC Canadian Open, both in playoffs.
At last week’s Open Championship, needing a birdie at the last hole to win, Fox never looked flustered. He maintained his quick playing style, as if immune to the magnitude of the occasion. He hit his approach right on line, around 12 feet short.
Without any drama, he lined up his putt and hit the winning stroke, as if he was just practicing at his home club. The putt had the perfect line and just enough legs to reach the hole. And just like that, Ryan Fox wins The Open Championship, only the second one for New Zealand.
With Fox’s win, the 2026 golf majors come to a close. In order, 2026 majors were won by Rory McIlroy, Aaron Rai, Wyndham Clark, and Ryan Fox.