Fantastic Mr Fox is one of beloved children’s author Roald Dahl’s finest creations, and centres around the wily, bushy-tailed protagonist’s plot to steal food from right under his neighbour’s noses, and that’s exactly what New Zealander Ryan Fox did at the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
But instead of making off with plump chickens, this Mr Fox captured the Claret Jug and the a record $3.2 million first prize.
The Kiwi, who displays all the rapid characteristics of the four-legged creature, finished in style, birdieing two of his final three holes to leapfrog a fading Si Woo Kim, and Cameron Young, who had set the clubhouse target almost two-and-a-half hours previous and was on the range preparing for a playoff that seemed inevitable when Fox was unable to birdie the par-5 17th after finding a fairway bunker and a tough stance.
But he had no intentions of playing extra holes, and played like a man possessed down the 18th, taking the aggressive approach on each swing and needing just 23 seconds to line up, address, and hit his 12-footer for glory.
The victory – Fox’s 20th as a professional – makes him a three-time PGA Tour and five-time DP World Tour winner, and takes his total career earnings to the PGA Tour to almost $12.5 million having only joined the tour in 2023.
Young, who is having the best season of his career, has to console himself with a second runner-up placing in the game’s oldest championship having been Cameron Smith’s closest challenger at the 2022 Open Championship at St Andrews, and he picked up $1,842,000.
It takes his season’s earnings to a fraction under $14 million, and his career money to $38.7 million, and he regains the number three spot in the Official World Golf Rankings having overtaken Matt Fitzpatrick.
Shane Lowry’s weekend push never materialised and he had to settle for a tie for 28th and just over $100k in earnings, while Rory McIlroy, a shot further back in T40, added $69k and change to his account.
Scottie Scheffler’s $827,500 for sharing fourth place means that, at $115,405,211, he’s now just $1 million behind McIlroy in the PGA Tour Career Money List, as the race to unseat Tiger Woods’ longstanding number one position continues.
Meanwhile, at the co-sanctioned Corales Puntacana Championship, Italian Stefano Mazzoli claimed top spot, a first prize cheque of $720,000 and with it, a full PGA Tour card for 2027.
Séamus Power’s T11 finish was his best result since posting the same position at the Farmers Insurance Open back in January, and along with valuable FedEx Cup points, he banked $93,000.
Open Championship selected payouts
| Position | Player | Score | Earnings |
| 1 | Ryan Fox | -10 | $3,200,000 |
| 2 | Cameron Young | -9 | $1,842,000 |
| 3 | Sam Burns | -8 | $1,181,000 |
| T4 | Scottie Scheffler | -7 | $827,500 |
| T4 | Tommy Fleetwood | -7 | $827,500 |
| T6 | Casey Jarvis | -6 | $550,883 |
| T6 | Lucas Herbert | -6 | $550,883 |
| T6 | Si Woo Kim | -6 | $550,883 |
| T9 | Russell Henley | -5 | $336,380 |
| T9 | Adam Scott | -5 | $336,380 |
| T9 | Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen | -5 | $336,380 |
| T9 | Ludvig Aberg | -5 | $336,380 |
| T9 | Ryan Gerard | -5 | $336,380 |
| T28 | Shane Lowry | -2 | $102,317 |
| T40 | Rory McIlroy | -1 | $69,750 |
Corales Puntacana Championship selected payouts
| Pos. | Player | Score | Earnings |
| 1 | Stefano Mazzoli | -20 | $720,000 |
| T2 | Gordon Sargent | -19 | $356,000 |
| T2 | Todd Clements | -19 | $356,000 |
| T4 | Will Gordon | -18 | $180,000 |
| T4 | Ben James | -18 | $180,000 |
| T6 | Joe Highsmith | -17 | $135,000 |
| T6 | Marcel Schneider | -17 | $135,000 |
| T6 | Jacob Skov Olesen | -17 | $135,000 |
| T9 | Zach Bauchou | -16 | $113,000 |
| T9 | Thomas Rosenmueller | -16 | $113,000 |
| T11 | Seamus Power | -15 | $93,000 |
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