SerpApi.Org
Ryan Fox chose to be bold down the stretch at The Open Championship, and the attitude that won him the Claret Jug was summed up in a defiant message to his caddie.
Fox was in the final group at Royal Birkdale and bounced back from a mid-round slump to get back in the hunt as he neared the clubhouse. The New Zealander was tied at nine-under par with clubhouse leader Cam Young when he arrived on the 18th tee.
Chasing his first major title, the 39-year-old did not cower in the face of fear, and he struck perhaps the best shots of his life on the daunting closing hole to leave himself an 11-foot putt for the championship. Not long after it found the bottom of the cup, he was already drinking wine from golf's most historic trophy.
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When the stakes were their highest, Fox was ultra-aggressive, taking driver off the tee despite the danger lining the fairway, and after finding the short grass, he sent a towering 9-iron straight at the flagstick.
Fox revealed he stayed true to the message he gave caddie Dean Smith back on the tee. The champion said in his press conference: "I hit two shots exactly how I wanted to hit them. I didn't feel anything for the putt; everything was shaking that much. I was just happy to hit it somewhat near the hole, and to see it go in was incredible.
"I did say to my caddie, Dean, on the tee that we were going to take it on, that I was going to try to win the tournament, and I'd live with the consequences if I stuffed it up. To go out there and execute, that drive is not a very comfortable tee shot, obviously, and to hit it in the fairway and give myself a chance was huge.
"Then I landed on a good number. I think I had 160 meters to the hole. The breeze was a little down off the left. Obviously, everything is a bit jammed up there, so it was just a solid 9-iron, and I hit it exactly where I wanted to hit it. I think I screamed to it, 'Please be good,' in the air, and it was.
"To cap it off with the putt — everyone practises on the green, I guess, you've got to a putt to win a major championship, to win The Open. It's not like that in real life. It's not a very comfortable feeling. It's certainly very enjoyable when you see it go in."
Late bloomer Fox, who earned his PGA Tour card just two years ago, was overwhelmed by the enormity of his achievement
"Surreal, to be honest. It's something you dream of. I used to get up in the middle of the night to watch this tournament back home," he said.
"It was always something that was there just to be able to play in it, first up, and now to be an Open champion, to be the Champion Golfer of the Year, it's unbelievable, surreal, crazy. I don't have enough words in my vocabulary to explain it, to be honest."
