Ryan Fox of New Zealand celebrates victory on the 18th green during Day Four of the The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 19, 2026 in Southport, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

Edmund Hilary conquered Everest, but Ryan Fox climbed golf’s summit in extraordinary fashion when he birdied the 18th at Royal Birkdale to claim the154th Open Championship.

The son of the mighty All-Black and World Cup winner, Grant, he joined Bob Charles and Michael Campbell as just the third New Zealander to win one of men’s golf’s four Major Championships when he rolled in a 12-footer on the 72nd green to shoot a two-under 68 to win by a shot from Cameron Young on 10-under 270.

The American looked set to claim his first Major when he raced to seven under for the day and 10-under for the Championship with only the 18th to play.

But he bogeyed the closing hole after he caromed into the rough off the face of a fairway bunker to shoot 64 and set up a drama-filled two-and-a-half hour wait to see if it would be enough.

He feared he’d regret not posting 10-under and he was proved correct as the burly Fox emerged from a chasing pack that included overnight leader Sam Burns, Korea’s Si Woo Kim, world number one Scottie Scheffler and local hope Tommy Fleetwood to win the Claret Jug and become the Champion Golfer of the Year at the age of 39.

“It's unbelievable, to be honest,” an emotional Fox said as he cradled golf’s oldest Major trophy. “I still don't know what to think. My nerves are all over the place. I'm not quite sure how I hit that putt on 18.

Ryan Fox of New Zealand poses with the Claret Jug following victory during Day Four of the The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 19, 2026 in Southport, England. (Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

“It is a dream come true. Looking at this trophy now,-it’s the first time I've seen it up close, so it's pretty amazing.”

The New Zealander was one over for the day and two behind Young with six holes to play but birdied the 13th and 14th to tie.

A bogey at the 15th, where he sensibly played out backwards from an impossible spot in the front left bunker, proved no more than a blip as he went on to birdie the 16th to rejoin the lead.

He needed a par at the 18th to play-off with Young, and Burns a birdie to join the,

But true to his attacking spirit, he hit a 175-yard approach down the flag and rolled in the putt for victory.

“I said to my caddy through six or eight holes, and I feel a lot better than I thought I would feel right now,” Fox said.

“Played really solid early, and then I had some great shots down the stretch. To play that last hole how I did, I stood on the tee and said to my caddy, Dean (Smith), ‘We're going to try to win this’.

“And I hit two perfect shots, and I'm not sure how I hit the putt. As I said, my hands were all over the place. I was just trying to get it towards the hole somewhere.

“It’s surreal that it went in, and yeah, Champion Golfer of the Year's got a pretty good ring to it.”

Burns shot 72 to finish third on eight under while defending champion Scottie Scheffler, denied on the greens for most of the week, bogeyed the last to shoot 67 to tie for fourth with Tommy Fleetwood (68) for fourth on seven under.

As for the Irish challenge, it was always going to require something extra special from Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy to challenge for another Claret Jug but neither round materialised.

Lowry was on the back foot after a bogey at the first and while he birdied the third and fist-pumped after holing a bunker shot for a two at the short fourth to get to within five strokes of Burns, that was as good as it got.

Four bogeys in seven holes on the back nine, followed by an eagle-bogey finish, added up to a two-over 72 and a tie for 28th on two-under, denying him his first top-20 finish since his Cognizant Classic disappointment on 1 March.

He understandably declined to speak afterwards, but McIlroy was happy to talk despite enduring a frustrating week, especially on the greens.

Superb from the tee, he was well off the pace for approach play and putting and followed a third round 69 with a 71 to finish 40th on one-under.

“I just sort of stuck in neutral for most of the week,” McIlroy said. “Even par over the weekend is not going to get it done.

“I just felt like any time I got a little bit of momentum out there, I seemed to make a bogey. It was just one of those weeks; I couldn't get it going.”

He’ll likely skip the first two Play-Off events in Memphis and St Louis and focus on the Tour Championship, admitting it was “fair” to say the FedExCup no longer excites him.

“I just need to be in the top 30 going in there to have a chance to win a FedExCup, so why would I care about the first two?” he asked.

The Amgen Irish Open in Doonbeg is a target in September, and he admitted Bryson DeChambeau, a close friend of President Donald Trump, would be a welcome addition to the field should he play.

“Having someone like Bryson at the Irish Open, yeah, it would be great for the tournament, absolutely,” he said.