Ladies and gentlemen,

Ryan Fox has won The Open Championship and has been crowned the Championship Golfer of the Year 2026.

And despite the good that comes with a fresh face as the top of a major leaderboard, I wasn’t all that thrilled about it.

Wah wah!, he cries, desperate for one of his Americans to come through.

I am a Scottie truther through and through, as I want to witness greatness. Despite his NINE top-5 finishes this year, only the wins get remembered. So while his one tournament victory could very likely be 4 or 5 this year, that is not reality. It is just one, so I root for him to get more.

Next up on my favorite golfers list is Cam Young, who made a stunning surge up the board to -10 before dropping a stroke on the dreaded 18th that Fox BIRDIED for the win.

He gets all the credit for that alone tbh.

So no, Fox would never have been the popular pick outside of the NZ golf fans, and he was someone I was actively rooting against in the end (not proud of it, man enough to say it), as I would have loved to see Young’s Sunday play prove good enough for a major championship. It was not so.

THAT SAID, I love what this means for the game of golf.

I love what this means for any golfer hovering in that 50-100 ranking. You can literally go out and have 3 average days and one electric performance can win you a major championship.

Even through Friday, his 8-under on Saturday propelled him to second place heading into the final round. His 2-under on Sunday was a GREAT round for what it’s worth — hard to fight like that with a stacked field chasing you from behind.

Speaking of those -8 62s… What’s fun is that every single golfer out there is capable of a round like that. If Sam Burns is and Ryan Fox is and Lucas Herbert are capable, so are just about all of these guys. It just takes one day where you get a wild combination of:

Yes, you have to have both at once, but it’s always possible.

This is ALSO why I’m always so impressed by the guys (Scottie) who somehow seem to be near the top every single weekend. Not only do you have to have your best stuff each week, you ALSO have to hope that the field of 140+ guys DOESN’T have their best stuff over the span of 4 days, which again, could be anyone out there.

Golf is just crazy. Sam Burns shot 3-over, then followed that up with an 8-under the next day.

Same golf course.

Congrats to Ryan Fox on securing the Claret Jug. $3M+ payday don’t hurt either.

I think it will be a little funny looking back on the previous Open Championship winners in like 5 years thinking to ourselves, wait… was Ryan Fox that guy in 2026?? Was he ballin?

Only to do research to conclude that well… not really. But also not NOT really?? He did win the RBC Canadian Open last year and a smaller tour event. So why not give him credit? Why not give him ballin status? Beats me.

I shall put respect on Ryan Fox’s name from here on out.

Hear ya, hear ye! Ryan Fox has been deemed credible! A worthy opponent!

CHEERS,

Luke Mangan
On Golf