Beaten Aussie rival’s reaction says it all as humble star who ‘never changed’ tops family’s iconic feats

It was the memory of a lifetime for Ryan Fox, at least until he delivered the achievement of a century for New Zealand at Royal Birkdale on Sunday.

Almost three decades ago Fox, who became the second Kiwi to win the British Open when producing a finale for the ages, picked up for a club for the first time.

Even as a 10-year-old, the company he was keeping was among the richest sport has to offer when it comes to success, which is no surprise given his family history.

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His dad Grant is a legendary All Black, a flyhalf in the inaugural 1987 World Cup winning team who played 56 times for his nation before retiring as New Zealand’s all-time leading points scorer.

Granddad Merv Wallace played 13 cricket Tests and was considered “one of the best batsmen” his country has produced, with his career cut-short by World War II.

So it is perhaps no surprise that in his first outing on a golf course, the trio playing alongside he and his dad were Ian Botham, Martin Crowe and Mark Nicholas.

It is incredible to consider, but in joining Sir Bob Charles as the only Kiwis to win the British Open, the third-generation Fox might just have topped the lot given the field he beat and the manner with which he did so.

Fox shot into contention with a major-equaling record of 62 on Saturday, the third player to do so in this British Open after Aussie Lucas Herbert and American Sam Burns, who both finished in the top 10.

On Sunday he refused to wilt, defying misfortune on the 15th and 17th as he sought to rein in American star Cam Young, who sat with the clubhouse lead for two hours.

On 18 he stood over his driver and unleashed a perfect tee shot. He followed it with a superb approach. And then he landed a 3.5 metre putt for glory. Ice cool.

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And quickfire — as Aussie tour officials later said, Fox has never been a fan of slow play and he certainly did not labour over any of his shots.

“I did say to my caddie on the tee that we were going to take it on, that I was going to try to win the tournament, and I’d live with the consequences if I stuffed it up,” said Fox, who had never previously finished in the top 10 at a major in 28 attempts.

“To go out there and execute that drive, which is not a very comfortable tee shot, and to hit it in the fairway and give myself a chance was huge.”

In his wake were legends including world No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who lurked ominously all day in his bid to defend the British Open, and Rory McIlroy, who has completed a career Grand Slam, and a host of other world-beating stars.

It is a stunning triumph for a man who did not turn professional until he was 25, having waxed and waned between cricket and rugby which caused “too many concussions” after starting a law degree at the University of Auckland.

“Looking back on it, golf was the sport I enjoyed the most,” Fox said.

“I’d always wanted to be a professional sportsman, it just took a fair while to figure out what sport it was going to be.”

Fox picked up early wins on the Australasian PGA Tour including a success in the Queensland PGA in 2015 — it is a long way from a triumph in Toowoomba to a birdie blitz in Birkdale, but a path Fox has travelled.

“Look, the Aussie Tour was the first tour I played on,” he said.

“It was where I learned professional golf and everything to do, the travel that’s involved, the grind that’s involved. It’s a really underrated tour. I think obviously the big events, the Aussie Open especially, is very well regarded around the world.

“The fields in the smaller events, I always thought were really, really strong, and you felt like you had to play really well to contend at an Aussie Tour event back in the day. When I first got over to Europe, I kind of felt ready to compete with those guys purely from being on the Aussie Tour and having won a couple times.

“Knowing I could compete with those guys made me feel good about competing elsewhere in the world.

“It’s a great pathway into other tours now. Obviously you get a DP World Tour card for winning the Order of Merit, which happened after I won the Order of Merit actually. It’s a great tour, and I would recommend anyone from the southern hemisphere to give it a crack if they want to do it. It’s a great place to learn the game.”

The big win in Perth in 2019 opened up Europe to him and he is now a five-time winner there, but he also has three wins on the PGA Tour now after successes in the Canadian Open and at Myrtle Beach last year.

But what has never changed is the fact he is a good bloke who is well liked by his peers, by administrators and by other sporting legends.

It is a fair bet that Australian legend Shane Warne would have been willing him on from above, for the pair were great mates and Fox dedicated a triumph in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship to the champion leg-spinner soon after his death in 2022.

“To be honest, the only person I can really think of at the moment is Warne,” Fox said at the time.

“He meant a lot to me and this event and was a great mate. It’s a terrible shame he’s not here.”

There were Kiwi accents everywhere as Fox stayed in touch on a day where contenders surged before wilting.

And while he was able to hold his focus, they helped him in what is certain to be a popular win.

“The crowd was amazing. There was a lot of Kiwi accents in the crowd. There seems to be Kiwis everywhere, especially in the UK. You could definitely hear them loudly over all of this week, especially today,” he said.

“It felt like the English crowd got behind me for whatever reason. I was trying not to get too caught up in it coming down the stretch, just kind of focus on what I could control.

“The reception coming into 18 was - even before I’d hit the putt was one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. Obviously after making it was unreal. I can’t thank the fans enough for their support. It was awesome.”

As Fox drained the winning putt, Lucas Herbert was chatting to a small cluster of Aussie journalists about his own bold bid for victory that, while ending short, demonstrated he has the game and class to press for his own major championship.

As the putt dropped, Herbert said; “That’s pretty cool.”

“I mean, the Aussies and the Kiwis tend to stick together out there. We are a familiar breed,” Herbert said.

Australasian PGA senior executive Nick Dastey knows Fox well and was buzzing about the triumph and what it meant for golf down under.

“The greatest thing I could say about Ryan is he hasn’t changed from the moment he first turned professional to the moment now, and this won’t change him either,” he said.

“You know, he is just a fantastic human being. He is someone that, if we could model the professional golfer on, and someone that we would want as a tour member, he’s it.

“He’s brilliant. And he will always continue to give back to Australian and New Zealand golf.”

As the sun was setting over Royal Birkdale, an enormous cheer could be heard inside the famous Art Deco club house.

And Fox was still pinching himself.

“(It is) surreal, to be honest. It’s something you dream of,” he said.

“I used to get up in the middle of the night to watch this tournament back home. It was always something that was there just to be able to play in it, first up, and now to be an Open champion, to be the Champion Golfer of the Year, it’s unbelievable. Just surreal, crazy. I don’t have enough words in my vocabulary to explain it, to be honest.”

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