Ryan Fox, the guy literally nobody had on their pick sheets, pulled off an all-time shocker, winning the Open Championship with an absolutely clutch birdie on the 72nd hole Sunday, grabbing his first major! This dude was a pre-tournament longshot, with some sportsbooks putting his odds as high as 200-1.
Who Saw This Coming? Absolutely Nobody
Seriously, who had Ryan Fox winning the Open? Not Caesars Sportsbook, who pegged him at 200-1. DraftKings gave him 170-1 odds, and BetMGM was still way out there at 150-1. Fox, a 39-year-old from New Zealand, was ranked No. 56 in the world heading into Royal Birkdale. He was not on nearly anyone’s radar, making this win a massive upset for the final major of the men’s golf season.
From Longshot to Leaderboard Legend
Despite those insane odds, Fox absolutely balled out. He dropped a 62 in the third round, which tied the lowest score ever in a major championship. He followed it up with a 68 in the final round on Sunday, finishing the tournament at -10. That put him one stroke ahead of Cam Young, who’s ranked No. 4 in the world! That’s how you snatch a major. This isn’t his first PGA Tour win, either. He took home the Myrtle Beach Classic and the RBC Canadian Open in 2025. Plus, he’s got four DP World Tour victories between 2019 and 2023. Fox is also the second huge underdog to win a major this year; Aaron Rai had similarly long odds at the PGA Championship, stunning a stacked leaderboard that included Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas.
Big Money, Big Crowds, Bigger Impact
That winning birdie wasn’t just for glory, either. Fox walked away with a winner’s check of $3.2 million from the Open’s $17.75 million purse. While those figures were the smallest among golf’s four major championships, it still boosted his PGA Tour prize money earnings to a staggering $12.47 million, making it his biggest single paycheck. Royal Birkdale set a new attendance record for the Open Championship, with 306,000 fans showing up over four practice days and four competition rounds. That crushed the old record of 290,000 set in 2022 at the Old Course at St Andrews. Birkdale hadn’t seen crowds like this since 2017, when 235,000 fans showed up, which was previously the most for any Open not played at St Andrews. The R&A even announced that St Andrews is set to host again in 2027 and is likely to break this new record. His father, Grant Fox, was a legendary player for the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team.
So, what’s next for the Open Champion Ryan Fox? After this incredible, first major victory, his world ranking is about to jump, and his name is officially etched into golf history. We’ll be watching to see how he builds on this momentum, especially with St Andrews ready to host next year and likely set another attendance record. The pressure will be on to see if he can repeat such a dramatic performance.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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