THE 154TH OPEN

July 19, 2026

Ryan Fox

TV Interviews

Q. Ryan Fox, Champion Golfer of the Year, a dream realised. Just how sweet is this moment?

RYAN FOX: It's unbelievable, to be honest. I still don't know what to think. My nerves are all over the place. I'm not quite sure how I hit that putt on 18. Look, it is a dream come true.

Looking at that trophy now, it's the first time I've seen it up close. So it's pretty amazing.

Q. Talking about birdie at 18, 18 is one of the hardest closing holes on The Open rota. How proud are you of the pace you played at today and the way you dealt with the pressure?

RYAN FOX: I was really happy. I said to my caddie through six or eight holes, I feel a lot better than I thought I would feel right now. Played really solid early, and I had some brush-ups down the stretch. Yeah, to play that last hole how I did, I stood on the tee and said to my caddie Dean, we're going to try to win this.

I hit two perfect shots. I'm not sure how I hit the putt. As I said, my hands were all over the place. I was just trying to get it towards the hole somewhere. It's surreal that it went in.

Yeah, Champion Golfer of the Year has got a pretty good ring to it.

Q. It certainly does. As I mentioned, you do play at a rapid pace. It's brilliant to watch. We're all a huge fan of that. Did that help you, though, in the moment with that intense pressure with the job at hand?

RYAN FOX: Yeah, it's always been see a shot, hit a shot. As soon as I start thinking about it too much, then some bad stuff creeps in. That was the whole process down the stretch. I had some good numbers coming in for iron shots into 16, 17, and 18. I just picked my shot and hit it. Thankfully I kind of executed them pretty well.

Q. Talking about the Olympics and the Olympic rings on your yardage book, four birdies the last six holes are awesome, but I want to talk about the two holes that you didn't birdie in that stretch and the way you gutted it out. First, your reaction when you got to that ball on 15. You hit a shot that was so close to so good.

RYAN FOX: Yeah, I kind of missed that by much, and then I saw the walking commentator sort of look up, and I'm going, oh, no, I'm going to be in trouble here. I didn't have any other choice but to hit it backwards. I think that up-and-down from kind of 20, 30 yards short of the green, that kept me in it.

Then I didn't miss a shot coming down the stretch. I thought the tee shot on 17 was a yard too far. It was almost perfect. Probably not expecting to birdie 18, but I managed to figure out a way to do it.

Q. For the millions of us that have gotten over a putt on a practice green and dreamed about a birdie putt to win a major, you just did it. Tell us what it feels like.

RYAN FOX: Well, you can't feel your hands, I know that. Yeah, my focus with the putter all day was just take a really deep breath before I hit it and just try to hit a line, and I did that on 18. I was shaking. I was just trying to get it up there near the hole.

It looked pretty straight, and thankfully it dove in that left edge. Yeah, it's crazy. I don't really know what to think. I don't know how I managed to keep the putter face square enough for that to go online, but I'll take it.

Q. You had the playoff in Canada with Sam Burns last year, and that was a long playoff. But that time on the PGA TOUR has really changed a lot for you. What has it done for you as a golfer and then living in America with your family as well?

RYAN FOX: Look, playing on the PGA TOUR, playing against the best guys every week, it just sharpens your game. A couple of wins last year, I think deep down I probably thought I could compete with the best guys in the world, but until you actually do it, it's a bit harder to believe. Both wins last year really made me believe that.

I was kind of thinking that down the stretch today, like I'm in a position I feel like I could be in. To execute down the stretch is pretty awesome. I'm glad the family gets to watch it in the States. That's been a good move for us; made the travel a lot easier.

I said it up there, my kids asked me to bring home a trophy for them, and this is about as cool a one as I can bring home, I think.

Q. I know you got to FaceTime them. What do you want to say? I'm sure they're watching back home in Florida.

RYAN FOX: Firstly to my wife, she sacrificed a lot for me to get to this point. Yeah, just for all her support, everything she's gone through with the kids, staying at home, trying to travel with two young kids as well early on. Starting out on the PGA TOUR, that was really hard, and she's an absolute trooper.

To Isobel and Margot, my two little ones, Dad's got a trophy for you.

Q. I know you just got this thing in your hands. I want you to look at it for a second. Your name's on here now, Phil, Tiger, Nicklaus, Watson, Palmer. The history of the game is on this trophy, and now you are a part of that. What does that mean to you, with all the things you've done from the beginning to right now?

RYAN FOX: Everything, to be honest. I mean, you do dream of this moment. I don't know whether I ever thought it was going to become a reality. Now it is, and to have my name etched in the history of the game is pretty awesome. I think it's pretty awesome for New Zealand as well. It's going to be big down there.

I appreciate all the support from down there at home. It's going to be a lot of people pretty sad Monday morning at work after staying up all night to watch. I'm glad it was worthwhile for them.