Royal Birkdale represents links golf at its purest. Fairways framed by towering dunes, pot bunkers lurking, large undulating greens, unpredictable bounces, thick straw-like rough, hard baked fairways, drives travelling miles.
And with little more than a zephyr blowing for most of the week, it was there for the taking. But it never quite works out that way.
Image Credit: ©Rolex/Chris Turvey
The vagaries of links golf were summed up perfectly by American Eric Cole. In perfect conditions on Thursday he shot a 76 and probably headed back to his accommodation and started packing. But 24 hours later, in almost identical conditions, he reduced the course to 64 blows and booked his place for the weekend.
There were the usual host of unlikely names at the top of the leaderboard - Lucas Herbert, Matt Wallace, Shaun Norris, Jackson Suber.
Herbert wrote himself into Open history on Friday when he became only the second man after Denis Durnian to play nine holes in 28 shots. He missed a short putt on the final green for a 61, which would have been the record low score in any major.
Nobody who knows anything about this game should have been surprised - the Australian can make birdies for fun and has won all over the world. Unbelievably, Herbert’s score was equalled by American star Sam Burns, who holed a bunker shot at the 18th.
There were also the usual suspects - Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Young, Shane Lowry, Patrick Reed, home favourite Tommy Fleetwood and, of course, defending champion Scottie Scheffler.
Even Bryson DeChambeau finally showed signs of life again. But Bryson being Bryson, he was at the centre of drama.
Having finished one shot behind Herbert he was penalised two shots for allegedly inadvertently improving his lie at the fifth. I watched the incident multiple times and I still don’t understand what he was supposed to have done wrong.
The biggest gallery followed Rory McIlroy on day two as he tried to get his challenge back on track. In other words, a typical Open Championship.
Going into the weekend, it was Herbert who led the way after two days that saw the vast galleries treated to some astonishing golf while behaving impeccably.
The one thing we knew that wouldn’t change over the weekend was the reception Fleetwood received. Wherever he goes, he is much-loved but nowhere more than here.
Moving Day Changes Everything
So we came to moving day. And nobody made a bigger move than New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, who became the third player to shoot a 62. For a time, it looked like Fleetwood would give the fans what they wanted before a couple of late bogeys.
DeChambeau had taken to social media to tell the world he was fired up by his penalty. Maybe he tried too hard. He ended day three on six under, trailing Burns by four.
Nobody should have been surprised to see Burns looking down on the rest. He is a world-class golfer who nearly won the US Open last month. His wife has just given birth and he was quick to pay tribute to her.
While most eyes were on DeChambeau at the start of the round, Burns stole the spotlight from his playing partner with a brilliant display of skill and control.
Burns shot a record-equalling 62 in Friday's second round and quickly picked up where he left off with four birdies on the front nine.
A bogey on the ninth tempered his progress, but he picked up two more shots at 14 and 17 to take command.
Burns' total of 127 shots from rounds two and three (62, 65) is the lowest total across any two rounds in men's major championship history.
“I'm going to have to go out and execute," said Burns. "I know that I can accept the outcome, and life's going to move on. I'll get to go home and see my family.
"I hope I'm taking some hardware with me, but if I'm not, that's fine too."
He led Fox and Si Woo Kim by two - could he hold on? Fleetwood was five adrift - had he left himself too much to do?
Young birdied four of his opening five holes to move to seven under, just three behind Burns. He was on the charge but needed to keep it going.
He was quickly joined by Scheffler, who birdied three of his first five holes to sit alongside Burns. This was what the galleries came to see.
The biggest roar of the day came when Fleetwood holed a monstrous birdie putt at the first. Be still my beating heart.
Young added another birdie at the ninth to go out in 29. With the wind picking up, he had moved to eight under and now trailed by only two.
This was Burns’ fifth 54-hole lead. Worryingly, he had yet to convert any of them. If he was nervous he didn’t show it, a birdie at the second taking him to 11 under.
Young, 11 holes ahead, birdied the 14th to get to nine under but all eyes were on Fleetwood, who birdied the fifth and eighth to move to two behind Burns, who had dropped his first shot of the day. When Burns dropped another at the fifth there were four players tied for the lead - Burns, Young, Fox and Kim - with Fleetwood one behind.
Having birdied the 17th to tie the lead with Kim, Young put his drive at the last into a bunker and then hit the lip with his second and hit his third into a greenside bunker. It cost him a dropped shot. He signed for a 64, nine under, and could only wait to see if it was good enough.
The pack were now chasing Kim, trying to become the first South Korean to win The Open. It was clear that Fleetwood was going to miss out again after bogeys at the ninth, 10th and 11th. He would eventually finish on seven under par.
When Kim dropped shots at the 11th and 12th, the unthinkable had happened - Young led The Open.
Defending champion Scheffler birdied the 16th and 17th. If he could birdie the last he would join Young on nine under but, you guessed it, he dropped a stroke.
Ryan Fox Delivers His Major Moment
Image Credit: Srixon/Cleveland Golf
It was Fox who joined Young with a birdie at the par-five 14th. He missed a 10-footer at the 17th to take the lead on his own. It meant he required a birdie at the 18th to pip Young. And what do you know? He only went and did it.
Fox's victory was also another major success for Srixon and Cleveland Golf, with the New Zealander relying on the brand's latest equipment throughout the week at Royal Birkdale. Recent additions to his bag included a new Srixon driver and 3-wood, while his ZXi7 irons, Cleveland RTZ wedges and Z-STAR XV golf ball helped him master the firm-running links conditions. Having fired a record-equalling third-round 62 to move into contention, Fox backed it up with another composed display on Sunday, making four birdies on the back nine - including the decisive one at the 72nd hole - to secure the Claret Jug.
Afterwards, an emotional Fox admitted: "This is unbelievable, to be honest. I don't really know what to think at the moment. My nerves are all over the place and I'm not quite sure how I hit that putt on 18. It is a dream come true."
Make no mistake, Fox is a worthy champion, hugely popular among his peers. He plays the game in a refreshing, no-nonsense manner, is one of the quickest golfers on the planet and swings the club with a technique that is all his own.
And so we all now look forward to St Andrews 2027. There will be those who will try to tell you that a course that yielded so many low scores no longer has a place on The Open rota. They don’t know what they are talking about!
This was another classic Open Championship.
