Who is Open Champion Ryan Fox? Meet the New Zealander whose father played for the All Blacks and was Shane Warne’s ‘great mate’. golf news

Ryan Fox cut an emotional picture as he sat on a sofa inside the players’ compound at Royal Birkdale.

He just sank an 11-foot putt on the 18th, the toughest hole of the week. To card a birdie to win The Open.

Notable doesn’t cut it.

Back home in New Zealand, fans stayed up all night to watch Fox, son of one of the country’s greatest All Blacks and grandson of a former New Zealand cricket captain, become the second Kiwi to lift the claret jug.

The 39-year-old, widely regarded as one of the most humble and confident players on the PGA Tour, said The whole body was shaking The shot is at full blast, but shines through his calm and composed demeanor.

A testament to his no-nonsense pace of play, it took just 22 seconds for Fox to play a putt that would clinch his first major title after his playing partner Sam Barnes finished his round at Royal Birkdale.

After that, a heartwarming moment unfolded backstage. Fox made video calls to his wife, Anne, children, Isobel and Margot, and his father, Grant, wiping tears from his eyes as he celebrated his remarkable achievement.

“I don’t really know what to think right now,” he said. “Last night I spoke to my kids and they asked me to bring back a trophy.

“I think it’s pretty cool for them to bring it back!”

“I used to wake up in the middle of the night and watch this tournament back home,” he added. “Just to be able to play in it and now be the champion golfer of the year, it’s incredible.”

Sport runs in his saddle

Fox was born in Tokoroa, Waikato, on the North Island of New Zealand and, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, was a keen rugby union player and cricketer.

Sports ran in the family. His grandfather, Marv Wallace, is considered one of the greatest Kiwi batsmen of his time, playing 13 Tests for New Zealand, captaining the team twice, scoring 439 runs in his Test career.

His father, Grant, was inducted into World Rugby’s Hall of Fame in 2014 and is one of the best goal kickers in the game.

The fly-half played his club rugby for Auckland and won 46 caps for the All Blacks, scoring 645 points in his international career.

Grant helped guide New Zealand to the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and featured heavily in New Zealand’s 2–1 series win over the British and Irish Lions in 1993.

“We have a great history in our family,” Fox said Sunday afternoon.

“Another big thing is that I didn’t have any pressure on me to follow in their footsteps. I was lucky enough to carve my own path there and had support from both my grandfather and my mum and dad throughout the whole thing.

“I don’t know if it tops their accomplishments, but it’s definitely okay. Now there’s no pressure to get ahead of my kids!”

Fox pursued a career in golf

After completing his high school studies, Fox chose to pursue a career in golf, dropping his handicap to two by the age of 16.

His parents advised him to continue his studies, and he enrolled at the University of Auckland, where he began a bachelor’s degree in law before majoring in psychology.

But golf was his true love. He turned pro in 2012 at the age of 25 and would go on to win three times on the PGA Tour of Australia.

Fox also cut his teeth on the Hotel Planner Tour before winning his DP World Tour card in 2016. He won his first title on the DP World Tour, claiming his first event at the ISPS Honda World Super 6 Perth in 2019 before gaining provisional membership to the PGA Tour in 2023.

With The Open, Fox now has five victories on the DP World Tour, including the BMW PGA Championship in 2023 and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2022, and won his first PGA Tour title at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic last year. RBC Canadian Open win.

But he never imagined he would win a major.

“I told my team last night, you know, at dinner, if you had given me my career up until yesterday when I turned pro, I would have jumped at it,” Fox said.

“Honestly I don’t know what to think now. You dream of being a great champion.”

‘I wanted to do something special for Warney’

In 2022, Fox dedicated his victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship to his late friend Shane Warne, who had died in March of that year.

Fox and the Australian spin bowling legend, himself a low handicapper, have previously joined forces in the team element of the event in Scotland five times, last working together at the 2021 event.

“The only person I can really think of right now is Warney,” Fox said after winning in 2022. “It definitely felt like he was with me.

“It means a lot to win this event. We were great mates, and it’s a shame he’s not here. I really wanted to try and do something special for Warney and I’m very proud to have done that.”

4th Kiwi Major won

On Sunday, Fox became only the fourth player from New Zealand to win a major championship.

Sir Bob Charles was the first. He claimed victories at Royal Lytham and The Open at St Annes in 1963, while Michael Campbell followed in 2005 at the US Open.

Lydia Koo boasts three major titles, her most recent coming at the 2024 Women’s Open.

“It’s amazing to be able to join them,” Fox said. “I have a little piece of my own history. I don’t know if it’s something I ever thought possible, but here we are now.”

A man ‘who never changed’

Fox has earned praise from many in the golf world for his attitude toward the sport, life and never forgetting his roots.

Prior to his Open victory, PGA Tour of Australia general manager Nick Duste praised Fox for “continuing to give back to Australian and New Zealand golf”.

“The biggest thing I can say about Ryan is that he hasn’t changed since he first turned pro, and it won’t change him,” Dusty said. DP World Tour.

“You know, he’s a great man. He’s someone who, if we could model a professional golfer, and someone we’d want as a member of the Tour, he is.”

What next?

The next PGA Tour event is the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota, starting on Thursday, before switching to Sky Sports Golf on Sky Sports+ starting at 7pm.

The 3M Open is part of a golf triple-header live on Sky Sports, with the ISPS Handa Senior Open and ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open also live. The women’s major season concludes with the AIG Women’s Open from 30 July-2 August, also live on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or Flow without any contract.