New Zealander Ryan Fox kept his head while all around him were losing theirs to make his major breakthrough at the age of 39 with a brilliant birdie at the last for a one-shot victory at The Open.
He was one of only three players in the final 12 groups to shoot under par on a chaotic final day when Royal Birkdale finally showed its teeth after two days of record-equalling rounds of 62.
After Cameron Young posted the nine-under target following a best-of-the-day 64 a couple of hours earlier, double figures was the aim for those out on the course.
Fox headed down the last – Birkdale’s most difficult hole – needing a birdie to overtake the American, for so long the PGA Tour’s perennial runner-up, and hit his approach inside 12 feet.
The son of All Blacks fly-half Grant held his nerve, as he had done all day and punched the air as he became New Zealand’s second Open champion after Sir Bob Charles in 1963.
Fox started at eight under, two behind, and was never more than one better or one worse all day until delivering the coup de grace at the last – only the fifth birdie on the hole all day – showing a level of composure lacking by some of his rivals.
Playing partner and overnight leader Sam Burns got to 11 under after three holes but dropped three strokes, Si Woo Kim gave back four from 10 under while defending champion Scottie Scheffler and home favourite Tommy Fleetwood both threatened before coming up three short.
A pivotal hole for Fox was the 241-yard par-three 15th when an unlucky bounce left him with an almost unplayable lie under the lip of a bunker.
With very little fuss, in keeping with his no-nonsense approach, he took his medicine, splashed out back down the fairway and made bogey.
“That hole probably won me the championship,” he said.
It could have derailed many players but he holed a 10-footer at the next for a birdie and was left with two holes to pick up one more and the fact he did it on the last, rather than the par-five 17th, was a nod to his quality.
That had been in evidence the day before when he carded one of three 62s scored this week to put him into the final group for the last day.
“I don’t really know what to think at the moment,” said Fox, only the third Kiwi to win a major after Charles and Michael Campbell, at the US Open in 2005, following a final-round 68.
“I spoke to my kids last night and they said ‘bring back a trophy’. I think this is a pretty cool one to bring back for them.”
Fox added: “My nerves are all over the place, I’m not sure how I hit that putt on 18.
“It’s a dream come true looking at this trophy right now – it’s the first time I’ve seen it close up and it’s pretty amazing.
“I played really solid early and then hit some great shots down the stretch. I stood on the final tee and said to my caddie ‘We’re going to win this’. Champion golfer of the year has a nice ring to it.”
It was a day when the big names failed to fire with Rory McIlroy admitting he was “stuck in neutral for most of the week” after a one-over 71 left him one under, nine off the pace.
Bryson DeChambeau, after the drama of his two-stroke penalty for a rules infringement on Friday, got progressively worse with Saturday’s 69 followed by a 72 to finish four under.
