Let’s talk about Ryan Fox, the 39-year-old New Zealander who just won the Open Championship by making birdie on the 72nd hole.
My goodness, did this man go out and hit the shots or what?
Fox is among the most unlikely major victors in recent years, joining Aaron Rai as underdog winners this season. In 28 previous major appearances, Fox only had two top-20 finishes and had never been in the top 10 before.
He ranked outside the top 50 in the world, according to Data Golf. That is way below where Rai ranked (No. 34) before winning the PGA back in May.
None of that stopped him from chasing down Cameron Young, the No. 3 player in the world. Fox battled through some tough breaks—including a brutal one on the 15th hole when his ball kicked under the back edge of the greenside bunker—and showed some serious stones on the final few holes.
A few things I like about Fox:
- His pace of play. He just steps up and pulls the trigger. After Sam Burns holed out on the 18th green, Fox took all of 22 seconds (!) to hit the biggest putt of his life. Are you kidding me? That is wild. Fox just stepped up and hit shot after shot.
- The golf swing is deeply relatable. Not the result, but the look of it. Fox relies more on timing than pure mechanics. He plays a variety of shots at different trajectories. Definitely an artist at work, which is super cool to see in the modern game.
- The emotion he showed with his family on FaceTime just after the round. Fox has always seems like a top-notch bloke.
Congratulations, man. You went out and got it. What a riveting performance.
When was the last time a guy just went out and took a major right at the end like that to win by one shot?
Xander Schauffele made birdie on the 72nd hole to win the 2024 PGA Championship by one, but that was on a gettable par-5 finishing hole. Birkdale’s 18th was a brute, and Fox took it down.
Now to his bag. Fox is a Srixon guy through and through. Everything is Cleveland-Srixon with the exception of his Ping putter.
By the way, he broke the blade putter drought! Bryson DeChambeau was the last guy to win with a blade back at the 2024 U.S. Open.
A few notable aspects of his bag:
- Fox just put in a new Srixon ZXi RKT LS+ driver and 3-wood into play right before the Open Championship began. We don’t always see guys trust new equipment right away in the biggest tournaments, so that is notable.
- Fox is another pro who uses a blended iron set to get the best of both worlds. He combines Srixon ZXi5 long irons with ZXi7 short irons. The ZXi5 irons have more forgiveness and are higher launching. The ZXi7 irons have smaller, blade-like heads for precision and distance control.
- He uses some of the stiffest, heaviest shafts available to pros. His woods are fitted with stout Fujikura Ventus Black shafts, and his irons use 130-gram Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 steel shafts. Those are among the stiffest, lowest-launching options available.
Ryan Fox WITB at The Open
Driver: Srixon ZXi RKT LS+ (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 TX
3-wood: Srixon ZXi RKT
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black VeloCore+ 8 X
Irons: Srixon ZXi5+ (3), Srixon ZXi5 (4, 5), Srixon ZXi7 (6-PW)
Shafts: Ventus Blue VeloCore+ 10 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-10 MID, 56-10 MID, 60-06 LOW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)
Putter: Ping Anser 2D
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0P ‘21
Grips: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord
Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV
Anything stand out? Let me below in the comments.
Top Photo Caption: Ryan Fox captured his first major title at the Open Championship. (GETTY IMAGES/Sean Haffey)
Dean D
1 month ago
He certainly doesn’t delay – it’s a pleasure to watch Him get here & smack it. Big hitter very accurate last week doesn’t seem like a wilt under pressure type.
At 39 just now threatening in a major he must have made some changes in his game that worked. The opposite of Prima Donna is nice to see winning on tour.