Ryan Fox and supporting cast keep this British Open from being remembered for the wrong reasons

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SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Ryan Fox doesn't have a YouTube channel, only the best content: a silver claret jug.

The British Open was on the verge of being remembered for all the wrong reasons — most of them involving Bryson DeChambeau — until Fox took his place in history. More than just winning his first major, it was how he did it.

There have been birdies on the 72nd hole with the final shot of the major to win by one, most recently by Xander Schauffele in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla. But the 9-iron Fox hit from 175 yards on the toughest hole at Royal Birkdale ranks up there with Sandy Lyle's fairway bunker shot on the 18th at Augusta National to win the 1988 Masters.

“That's one of the shots you dream of hitting,” Fox said after his one-shot victory over Cameron Young. “To execute like that under pressure, yeah, very proud of myself to do that.”

Adding to the drama was Young, once known as the talented American who endured nearly four years of close calls before getting his first PGA Tour victory (and then some). Now he can start adding the heartache in majors.

He had finished his Sunday-best 64 more than two hours earlier, when the leaders were on the front nine, and before long the leader was Young. Justin Thomas also had to wait what felt like an eternity when he closed with a 65 at the PGA Championship, but he never reached the top of the board.

The image of Young was hard to watch. He was on the range — waiting, waiting — until hearing that explosive cheer for Fox. He lifted his driver over his shoulder with his head down and tapped it a few times on the ground — not as hard as Robert MacIntyre and Jon Rahm, who both were issued code-of conduct warnings — and then Young packed up and left.

It was reminiscent of Ernie Els on the putting green at the 2004 Masters when he heard the sudden burst of cheers for Phil Mickelson making an 18-foot birdie for his first major championship.

Young did not take questions from the media when it was over. He should have. It's part of the deal for any athlete who performs before thousands on the ground and millions on television. And it's part of archives for the championship's rich history.

Sam Burns was a big part of this British Open, too, as the player who had no intention of coming over until his wife gave birth to their second child 11 days earlier than expected — her due date was the Tuesday of the Open — and then encouraged her husband to fly across six time zones and play.

Burns was runner-up at the U.S. Open after he narrowly missed a 17-foot birdie putt on the last hole to potentially force a playoff. And then he was poised to win the major he wasn't supposed to play. An early birdie gave him a two-shot lead. Three straight bogeys cost him the lead. Twelve straight pars to finish left him with nothing to do but applaud Fox after the winning putt, a classy gesture.

Equally classy was Fox, the 39-year-old from New Zealand, who upon making the biggest putt of his life didn't race over to anyone until he shared a moment with Burns. That's rare with so much immediate emotion involved in winning a major.

Capturing all the warmth at Royal Birkdale from his opening tee shot Thursday to his birdie on the final hole Sunday was Tommy Fleetwood, playing a major in his hometown. No cheer was louder than when he holed a 65-foot putt for birdie to start Sunday. He got within one shot of the lead playing the ninth hole, only to miss two fairways and one green, all of them bogeys.

“I don't get that emotional, but yeah, that was like ... that was heavy stuff,” Fleetwood said. “I do know how incredibly lucky I am to have experienced that.”

All of those great moments came on Sunday, along with defending champion Scottie Scheffler getting two bad bounces and then one amazing break with a nothing-to-lose shot on the 17th hole that was lost because it didn't have to be found when it was seen going into an area marked as a massive temporary immovable obstruction.

DeChambeau lost a ball on the 11th hole and made triple bogey. He didn't make a birdie until the 13th hole. He shot 72 and no one was talking about him. There was too much good stuff going on.

His big moment came Friday, when he was penalized for improving the path of his swing on the fifth hole, which cost him two shots and a spot in the final group to start the weekend.

He asked the R&A to take him to the scene, which made for great television (and content). The next day, he demanded (and was denied) possession of the Friday scorecard. It would have made for great content. DeChambeau stating his case in an interview? Content for another day, perhaps next April at Augusta National, the last place he spoke to media that wasn't of his choosing.

The Masters is a little more than eight months away.

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