'Surreal' success

As Ryan Fox stood on the tee box for the biggest hole of golf he will play in his life, his approach was refreshingly straightforward.

The 39-year-old had never finished inside the top-10 in a major, let alone contended for one.

But as he reached the 18th tee, a late flurry of birdies had left him tied for the lead at The 154th Open alongside Cameron Young, long since back in the clubhouse on nine-under par.

Only four players had birdied the hole on Sunday before Fox, playing in the final group with Sam Burns, arrived. He knew he needed to do likewise to lift the Claret Jug and avoid a play-off.

"I said to my caddie, Dean (Smith), 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,” he said.

Actions, of course, speak louder than words. And what followed will echo down the generations.

Fox boomed his drive to the middle of the fairway, stiffed his approach to 12 feet and rolled in the putt to become just the second New Zealander to win The Open.

“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.

To be the Champion Golfer of the Year, it's unbelievable, surreal, crazy. I don't have enough words in my vocabulary to explain it.”

Fox hails from sporting royalty in New Zealand. His dad, Grant, is an All Blacks legend who won the 1987 Rugby World Cup, while his grandad, Merv Wallace, captained New Zealand’s cricket team.

“I don't know if this tops their achievements, but it's certainly right up there,” he said. “I guess there's no pressure on my kids going forward now!”

Fox’s children were following the action from Florida, along with his wife, while he had plenty of support from the Royal Birkdale galleries.

His record-equalling Saturday 62 fired him into contention and he saved his very best until last, a run of four birdies in his last six holes sealing victory in style.

A late bloomer, Fox did not turn professional until he was 25 and has had periods of doubt as to whether that was the right call.

“My second year on the Aussie Tour, I was pretty close to giving it up,” he said. “I think I had three events left in the season, and I was not enjoying it.

“I remember getting to the Aussie Masters at Royal Melbourne, the second-to-last event of the year. I had just missed the cut at the Aussie PGA badly.

“My dad came over and caddied for me, and he said to me, why do you play this game?

“And I said, well, it's supposed to be fun. But it wasn't really very fun at the time. He goes, well, let's just go out this week and try to have some fun.

“I finished fifth that week, and that made enough to keep my card for the year. It took the pressure off the rest of the year, and I came back the following year and played really, really well.

“I was a rookie on the DP World Tour at 30. I was a rookie on the PGA TOUR at 37 and now a major champion at 39. I'm definitely not following the trend at the moment. But if I can keep getting better a little bit every year, I'll be pretty happy.”

One principle Fox has kept through the highs and lows is his blink-and-you’ll-miss-him style.

Scottie Scheffler told him last year that playing alongside him in a threeball was more akin to a pairing – ‘you hit it so fast’ – while there were just 22 seconds between Burns picking his final putt out the cup and Fox sinking his unforgettable winning stroke.

“I was always that way as a kid,” he said. “I played almost every sport growing up, and tennis I wanted to hit the ball hard, and cricket I wanted to hit the ball hard.

“I was never methodical at anything, to be honest, and it just carried over into golf.”

Those watching back home would have been grateful he did not take any longer, with the sun almost rising over New Zealand when he wrapped it up.

He has become his country’s fourth major winner, following in the footsteps of Michael Campbell, Lydia Ko and Sir Bob Charles, who lifted the Claret Jug at nearby Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1963.

"To have my own little piece of history, I don't know if it's something I ever thought was possible,” he said. “But we're here now. I think this will be huge for New Zealand golf.”