In stunning style, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox took out The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale with a birdie on the 72nd hole to claim his first major title.

At the tender age of 39, Fox birdied four of the last six holes for a memorable triumph and he becomes the first New Zealander to win The Open since Sir Bob Charles in 1963. Finishing at ten-under-par, he edged out Cameron Young from the USA by a shot.

Final Leaderboard

View the final leaderboard from The 154th Open here.

Overnight leader Sam Burns had to settle for third place on eight-under, with defending champion Scottie Scheffler and home hope Tommy Fleetwood tied-fourth on seven-under.  

Fox became the fourth New Zealander to win a major title after Sir Bob Charles, Michael Campbell and Dame Lydia Ko and along the way he broke the record for lowest position on the leaderboard after the first round (tied-85th) and the second round (tied-52nd) before going on to triumph.

Fox also becomes the second player to record a 62 in a major championship and win (Xander Schauffele/2024 PGA Championship) and he’s the fourth winner of The Open with a round of 63 or lower;

• Greg Norman (63/R2/1986)
• Henrik Stenson (63/R4/2016)
• Shane Lowry (63/R3/2019)

Australian Lucas Herbert fired a sensational round 62 in the second round to become just one of eight players to shoot a 62 in a major. That saw him sit on top of the leaderboard after 36 holes with a two shot lead. A third round 71 by Herbert saw him slip back to T4, and he closed with a +1 (71) to finish as the best placed Aussie in T6.

Players to record a 62 at a major championship

Fellow Australian Adam Scott finished inside the top 10 (T9) and Cameron John had a great week finishing T28 (-2). Min woo Lee finished T59 (+2) after a promising start. Cameron Smith, Jason Day and Travis Smyth all missed the cut in the final major for 2026.

Four different countries are represented among the four major winners this season, marking the second time (2010):

• Rory McIlroy/Masters Tournament/Northern Ireland
• Aaron Rai/PGA Championship/England
• Wyndham Clark/U.S. Open/United States
• Ryan Fox/The Open Championship/New Zealand

Starting the final round at T20, seven strokes behind Sam Burns, reigning PLAYERS Championship winner Cameron Young (2nd/-9) recorded the round of the day with a 64 and earns his eighth runner-up finish on TOUR and second at The Open Championship (2022). He was seeking to join Jack Nicklaus (1978) and Cameron Smith (2022) as players that have won THE PLAYERS and The Open in the same season

54-hole leader Sam Burns (3rd/-8) recorded his second top-three finish in a major championship this season (2nd/2026 U.S. Open). He has top-10 finishes in five of his last 10 and had one top-25 finish in his first 16 major starts (2022 PGA Championship/T20)

World No. 1 and 20-time PGA TOUR winner Scottie Scheffler finished T4 (-7) in bid to become the first player to successfully defend at The Open since Padraig Harrington (2008). The ever reliable Scheffler now has 19 top-10 finishes in 29 major championship starts.

Finally making his 12th Open Championship appearance, Southport, England native and reigning FedExCup champion Tommy Fleetwood (T4/-7) records his eighth top-10 in a major championship and first since the 2024 Masters Tournament (T3). With rounds of 69-67-69-68 he becomes the eighth player in tournament history and first at Royal Birkdale to score all four rounds under 70 and not win.

Image: Ryan Fox of New Zealand poses with the Claret Jug following victory during Day Four of the The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 19, 2026 in Southport, England. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)