PGA Tour Brunch | The Open | Recap
PGA Tour Brunch Reviews the 2026 Open | Royal Birkdale
SOUTHPORT - Ryan Fox became the second player from New Zealand to win The Open Championship, joining Bob Charles (1963/Royal Lytham & St Annes). At No. 56 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Fox was the lowest-ranked winner of the event since Darren Clarke in 2011 (No. 111).
Fox was T-85 following an opening-round (72), which had him seven strokes off the lead.
Fox earned his third PGA TOUR title and first major championship in his 94th start on TOUR at the age of 39 years, 5 months, 27 days. It marked his first Top-10 in his 29th major championship start (previous best: T16/2019 Open Championship).
The victory came in his 10th Open Championship appearance; previously had two Top-25s (T16/2019, T25/2024).
Fox earned 750 FedEx Cup points and moved from No. 59 to No. 21 in the FedEx Cup standings. He also moved from No. 56 to No. 22 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
The 154th Open | Notes
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 best round of the day with a (64) to earn his eighth runner-up finish on TOUR and second at The Open Championship (2022).
54-hole leader Sam Burns (3rd/-8) carded his second Top-3 finish in a major championship this season (2nd/2026 U.S. Open). Burns 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). Scheffler has 19 Top-10 finishes in 29 major starts.
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, became the eighth player in tournament history and first at Royal Birkdale to score all four rounds under 70 and not win
The Open | Final Leaderboard
1 Ryan Fox 72 68 62 68 270 (-10)
2 Cameron Young 67 67 73 64 271 (-9)
3 Sam Burns 73 62 65 72 272 (-8)
T4 Scottie Scheffler 68 68 70 67 273 (-7)
T4 Tommy Fleetwood 69 67 69 68 273 (-7)
Full Leaderboard: (link)
PGA Tour Brunch | The Basics
PGATourBrunch will post at Noon (EDT) this Wednesday
The Open | What They’re Saying
Twenty-two Second for Ryan Fox (PGATourCom)
Official Site (TheOpen)
The Open (CBS Sports)
Sporting Goods and Golf Industry News
Fox’s Golf Equipment (Golf Week)
Scheffler: “DeChambeau Definitely Not a Cheater” (ESPN)
U.S. Amateur Preview (Golf Week)
The Puntacana Championship
The 2026 Corales Puntacana Championship went to Stefano Mazzoli of Italy who closed with a (-6) - (66) and took the title after sticking a 24-foot birdie putt on 18 to go (-20) for the tournament. He earned a PGA Tour membership for the win.
Mazzoli Rallies from Behind to Win: (PGATourCom)
Puntacana | What They’re Saying
Tournament Overview (PGATourCom)
Final Leaderboard at The Corales Puntacana (PGATourCom)
On This Day in Golf History
July 20, 1980 - Tom Watson claimed his third Open Championship title, winning by four strokes over Lee Trevino at the Muirfield Golf Links in Scotland. It was the first Open to start on Thursday and finish Sunday. Previously, the tournaments started Wednesday and ended on Saturday. - Courtesy of Randy Walker, Author of On This Day in Golf History, available via Amazon.com and by clicking HERE
This Week on the PGA Tour
Parting Putt
Behind the scenes at The Open:
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