Did anyone ever find out what Patrick Reed had in the box on Saturday morning? Maybe it was evidence to take down Bryson or maybe it was evidence to recuse himself from any previous wrongdoing in his own chequered career.
The 154th Open Championship delivered in spades, yet there was always the feeling that it was struggling for column inches with the World Cup Final and the England would they wouldn’t they hanging over the Claret Jug showpiece. There was also the small matter of the All-Ireland Hurling final for us paddies…
I wonder how many casuals could tell me who was leading the Open on Friday night, or were they overly consumed by the trials and tribulations of Bryson DeChambeau. Storylines were aplenty, drama to beat the band, but in the end, Royal Birkdale got a worthy and very popular winner.
On a day where everyone seemed to be falling over each other to try and edge ahead of Cameron Young who had finished what felt like a lifetime before the final groups, Ryan Fox stepped forward and grabbed the tournament by both hands.
Two birdies in his last three holes, four in his last six. He went out and won it when the tournament was waiting for someone to burst from the pack. In the midst of all that there were brief moments where you thought his chance had gone. The bogey on 15, the missed birdie putt on 17 to go one clear with one to play.
But if you were ever looking to show somebody the perfect hole to win your maiden major championship it would be the way Fox played the 72nd hole. 330 yards down the middle exactly the way he drew it up, the iron shot of his life from 176 and then the putt to match for birdie on the hardest hole on the course on Sunday.
Twenty two seconds is all Fox needed to strike the biggest putt of his life. Sam Burns had barely come to terms with his own near miss, the crowd hadn’t fully hushed to the point of eery silence. “Oh he’s already about to putt” and bang with the minimum of fuss.
The Fox family have quite the sporting genes. Ryan’s grandfather was a cricketer for New Zealand while his father was a famous fly half for the All Blacks. Now, he is arguably New Zealand’s most famous golfer as he became the first Kiwi to win a major since Michael Campbell in 2005 and just the third in all as he matched Bob Charles’ Open feat of 1963.
Fox, a very likeable and popular player on tour, came away with much more than the $100 he won off Shane Lowry as a wager for the New Zealand vs Ireland rugby match at the weekend.
His career is one of perseverance. He was probably never meant to be a major winner. His stats of no top-10 until Sunday suggest that, yet here he is. It’s not often we associate New Zealand victories as one of the underdog persuasion.
Fox nearly gave up the game. He was a DP World Tour rookie at 30, a rookie on the PGA Tour aged 30 and now aged 39 he is a major champion. Not bad for someone who only turned professional in their mid-20s and was close to quitting after a series of missed cuts on the Australian PGA region.
The other big winner of the week was Royal Birkdale. For those who revolve their calendars around what sporting events are on, this Open was one to remember.
A sun kissed Birkdale, firm, fast, fairways with the blonde hair of the girl next door. The rough turned into dusty grains and amazingly, not a drop of rain. It was a summer scene to remember.
It’s so rare for a course to give up such low scores yet stand up to the test of modern day golf. This was not a course you could overpower, yet it surrendered to three rounds of 62 – adding to Branden Grace’s 62 in 2017. But the winning score was ten-under. Nobody exceeded that mark at any point throughout the week.
In a sport which increasingly revolves around money, Birkdale and the 154th Open proved that there is still room for golf at its purest form. Even the new holes on the 5th, 7th, 14th and 15th didn’t defer from the great links tests that we come to associate with the Open. A modern touch yes, but still the traditional way to play them was needed.
And now to Bryson DeChambeau.
A showman. A polarising figure that golf needs whether you like him or not. Bryson has brought the game to new audiences. It was audible and visible how many children were cheering him on over the weekend and queuing for autographs and selfies post round. He has moved the needle.
LIV Golf has done absolutely nothing to grow the game as they promised they would, yet their star man has done that in spades both on and off the golf course, but thankfully away from that Saudi backed tripe.
Bryson at the Open was loved by the crowd. He knows how to play them. In one sense he is an absolute must for the PGA Tour to take back.
In another sense you can see why the PGA Tour would think he is too much hassle. He let himself down on Friday night and it isn’t for the first time. It was a headache that the tournament could have done without despite the global attention it brought.
It does seem that Bryson has a habit of matching his pathological need for adoration with self sabotage. He is a child. And he expresses himself like a modern day child. Through Instagram.
Nevertheless, sportspeople are entertainers and he delivers. Whether it be the delayed pulling of the driver out of the bag, the mocking of the ruling that went against him by tiptoeing in the grass or pretending to cut the grass, or just his general demeanour on the course. He is box office.
Bryson knows how to produce the dramatic moment. In a world of miserable golfers, Bryson doesn’t hide himself. It’s just unfortunate that in equal measure he impresses and disappoints.
Luckily for the Open, the story of Ryan Fox trumped all of the controversy. It will be remembered for that putt.
Leave a comment