Ryan Fox Captures The 154th Open Championship on the Final Hole

Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England — July 19, 2026

The final day at Royal Birkdale proved to be a challenge for the world’s greatest golfers. Through the opening nine holes, most players were dropping strokes to par, including Sam Burns, the third-round leader. Two players took exception to the trend.

Si Woo Kim posted back-to-back birdies on the fifth and sixth holes to take the lead at -10. Cameron Young started the day seven strokes behind Burns at -3. After 17 holes, he owned a share of the lead. Young’s tee shot on the 18th found a fairway bunker. He hit the lip of the trap, leaving him far short of the hole. Young’s third landed in a greenside bunker. Needing to hole out his fourth shot, the ball rolled close to the pin but would not look into the hole. Young’s bogey gave him a final round score of 64, the leader in the clubhouse at -9.

Scottie Scheffler made a late run, getting to -8 after 12 holes. Bogeys on the 13th and 15th were costly. Birdies on 16 and 17 brought him back to 8 under. However, his dream of back-to-back Open Championships died with another bogey on the 18th.

After a bogey-free round, Kim found trouble on the back nine. Bogeys on 11 and 12 dropped him out of the lead and back to -8 and tied with Burns, one stroke back of Young. Ryan Fox and Lucas Herbert were another stroke back at -7 with five and six holes to play, respectively.

With birdies on 13 and 14, Fox climbed into a tie for the lead. However, a bad bounce into a greenside bunker on the par three 15 left him with no shot to the green. After playing out away from the hole, Fox’s chip rolled past the cup, and he settled for a bogey, dropping back to -8.

Burns missed birdie putts on 14 and 15, remaining at -8. With holes running out, Cameron Young watches intently in the clubhouse, believing that -9 might be enough. A birdie on 16 pulls Ryan Fox back into a tie for the lead. Another par on the 16th leaves Burns at a single stroke behind the two leaders. While the rest of the contenders continue to fall away, dropping down the leaderboard.

Playing the par five 17th, Fox finds a fairway bunker off the tee, and Burns drives into the right rough. likely taking away the possibility of either player reaching the green in two strokes. Fox laid up in the fairway and placed his third in a makeable birdie position 8-feet below the hole. Burns went from the right rough to the left rough and hit his third well past the hole. Both players failed to birdie and walked to the final tee.

Some two hours after finishing his round, Cameron Young went to the driving range hoping to find himself in a playoff.

At the last the final pairing have to wait on the tee as Gerard and Kim finish their round ahead of them. Both Fox and Burns find the fairway with their drives on the 508-yard par 4. Ahead of both Kim and Gerard make bogey. Leaving Scottie Scheffler and Tom Fleetwood tied for fourth at -7.

Fox hits his third shot to six feet below the pin; Burns lands 20 feet left and below the hole but can’t make the putt. Fox seemed to hit his putt a bit timidly. It crawled to the hole and dropped over the front edge of the cup for the birdie and the Open Championship win.

Results of the 154th Open Championship from Royal Birkdale Golf Club