Outfoxing the field

A moment of breathtaking quality on the 72nd hole saw Ryan Fox win The 154th Open in the most dramatic of circumstances.

The swashbuckling manner in which he approached Royal Birkdale’s treacherous final hole resulted in a Championship-winning birdie, and scenes that followed will become stuff of Open legend.

While these moments thrilled spectators and became the enduring memories of another enthralling week, Champion Golfers are never defined by a single shot, or even a single hole. They are defined by the quality of their play over four days, and the key metrics that separate them from the rest of the field.

Fox excelled the areas that matter most. From his approach play and ball-striking to his putting performance, the Kiwi found the winning recipe and time-and-again outperformed the field.

The unforgettable finish provided his crowning moment, but the numbers behind his victory tell the story of his week.

Putting strokes gained (+8.389)

Ryan Fox became Champion of The 154th Open in spectacular fashion, rolling home a 12ft birdie putt on the 18th hole to become only the second New Zealander to lift the Claret Jug – 63 years after Sir Bob Charles’ triumph at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

That final putt will live long in the memory, but Fox’s putting performance throughout the week was every bit as important.

He topped the field for putting strokes gained* (+8.389), comfortably ahead of Bud Cauley (+6.623), while the putts he holes across the week added up to a  combined distance of 469.9ft, more than 80ft further than Robert MacIntyre who was his closest challenger in this regard.

Fox saved his best putting performance for Sunday, needing just 26 putts to sign for a final-round 68. It was the finishing touch to a truly world-class week on the greens.

Putting strokes gained (top five)

• Ryan Fox (+8.389)

• Bud Cauley (+6.623)

• Nick Taylor (+6.62)

• Naoyuki Kataoka (+5.983)

• Cameron John (+5.928)

*Strokes gained measures how well a player plays a specific shot compared to the baseline average.

Approach play (most birdie chances created inside 20ft)

Fox’s putting numbers were remarkable, but the opportunities he carved out were only possible thanks to outstanding approach play.

Nobody created more birdie chances inside 20 feet than Fox, his tally of 31 matched only by 2025 Champion Golfer Scottie Scheffler. The Kiwi also created 13 chances inside 10 feet, ranking joint-ninth in that respect.

The precision with his irons was reflected in his greens-in-regulation numbers, too. Fox found 53 of 72 greens in regulation, putting him inside the top five for the week alongside Cameron Young (58), Rickie Fowler (56) and Alex Noren (55).

Crucially, once more he saved his best for Sunday afternoon when it really mattered. Wonderful iron play on the 13th and 14th holes set up short birdie putts as he closed in on the lead, while his approach to 18 was arguably the finest shot of the week.

Add this precise iron play to Fox's ruthless efficiency on the greens, and it would prove a combination too powerful to stop.

Greens in regulation (top five)

• Cameron Young (81%)

• Rickie Fowler; Alex Noren (78%)

• Ryan Fox; Ludvig Aberg; Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele; Patrick Reed; Jon Rahm (74%)

Driving strokes gained (+3.184)

Fox consistently put himself in position to attack throughout the week. He ranked 10th in strokes gained off the tee (+3.184).

During Saturday’s remarkable 62, he gained 1.857 strokes off the tee alone, ranking third in the field for the round.

His driving accuracy was more modest, with the Champion Golfer finding 57% of fairways to rank 24th. But his sheer consistency and quality of ball-striking, and an ability to limit any mistakes, ensured he would have opportunities.

Driving strokes gained (top five)

• Rory McIlroy (+7.968)

• Aldrich Potgieter (+5.425)

• Cameron Young (+4.821)

• Kristoffer Reitan (+4.33)

• Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (+4.247)

Scoring (most birdies recorded in the field)

Fox made four more birdies than any other player on England’s golf coast.

From Thursday to Sunday he picked up 21 birdies in total, including nine during the sensational Saturday which saw him tie the lowest round in Open history.

After a slower start, with two birdies on Thursday, Fox found another five on Friday before producing his nine-birdie charge 24 hours later. He then matched his Friday tally with five more on Sunday, including the decisive birdie on the 18th.

Runner-up Young made 17 birdies throughout the week, the same number as Victor Perez and Laurie Canter, while Sam Burns, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas were among those to make 16.

Most birdies (top five)

• Ryan Fox - 21

• Cameron Young; Victor Perez; Laurie Canter - 17

• Sam Burns; Tommy Fleetwood; Lucas Herbert; Adam Scott; Dan Brown; Pierceson Coody; Jackson Suber; Patrick Reed; Hennie du Plessis; Jon Rahm; Justin Thomas - 16

A Champion's recovery (lowest position after two rounds)

Perhaps the most remarkable numbers of all came before Fox had even established himself in contention.

After an opening 78, he was tied-85th and seven strokes behind the leader – the lowest position after the first round from which a Champion Golfer has gone on to win The Open. The previous record was Mark O’Meara, who was tied-62nd after the opening round in 1998, also at Royal Birkdale.

Fox is only the sixth Champion to recover from at least seven or more strokes behind after the first round, joining Harry Vardon, George Duncan, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros and O’Meara.

And the records continue. After 36 holes, Fox was tied-52nd and eight strokes off the lead, breaking David Duval’s previous record for the lowest position (tied 35th) after two rounds from which a Champion Golfer has recovered.

Only Duncan, who was 13 strokes behind in 1920, has ever overcome a bigger deficit after 36 holes.

Records tumble (first Champion Golfer to fire a 62)

Fox’s victory was historic in more ways than one. Ranked 56th in the Official World Golf Ranking at the start of the week, he is the lowest-ranked winner of The Open since Darren Clarke, ranked 111th when he triumphed in 2011.

He is also the first Champion Golfer to have carded a 62 during the Championship, and only the fourth to shoot 63 or lower in an Open he went on to win.

His 62 on Saturday helped him equal the record for the lowest score over the final 36 holes, with his weekend total of 130 matching the marks set by Tom Watson, Ian Baker-Finch, Anders Forsbrand and Marc Leishman.

And, fittingly, Fox added one final statistic to an already remarkable week. He became the first player since Cameron Smith in 2022 to birdie the final hole of The Open to win the Claret Jug.

The numbers tell the story of a Champion who refused to be defined by his start, found a winning formula and finished the week claiming the biggest prize on offer.