Ryan Fox defeated Cameron Young by one stroke to win the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
The one-stroke difference came from Fox making a birdie on the 72nd hole after two brilliant shots left him with an 11-foot putt for the win. After narrowly missing his birdie putt on the previous hole, he didn’t let another opportunity to win slip away. This final putt dropped into the hole for his first career major championship win.
Fox’s highest finish in his 28 previous major championship appearances was T16 in the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Heading into this week, he sat 59th in the FedExCup points list and 56th in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). His major finishes this season were T35 at the 2026 PGA Championship, T23 at the 2026 U.S. Open and a missed cut at the 2026 Masters Tournament. He is the lowest ranked golfer to win The Open Championship since Darren Clarke won the 2011 Open Championship at No. 111 in the OWGR.
He and Bob Charles are the only two New Zealanders to win The Open Championship. For the first time since 2010, four different countries are represented among the four major winners of the season:
- Aaron Rai of England: PGA Championship
- Wyndham Clark of the U.S.: U.S. Open
- Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland: Masters Tournament
Young shot a final round 64 (-6) to finish runner-up for the second time in his career at an Open Championship; he spent over two hours staying loose while waiting to see if there would be a playoff.
Sam Burns, the 54-hole leader, shot a disappointing final round of 72 (+2) to finish alone in third, marking the third time he’s finished top-10 in a major this year.
In his bid to win back-to-back Open Championships, Scottie Scheffler finished T4 with hometown favorite Tommy Fleetwood at -7.
The PGA Tour next plays at the 3M Open in Minnesota. In the 2025 3M Open, Kurt Kitayama won by one stroke for his second career PGA Tour win. Kitayama will look to defend his title against a field that includes former major champions Scottie Scheffler, Hideki Matsuyama, Gary Woodland and Jason Day. There are only three weeks left in the regular PGA Tour season.
