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We speak to Ryan Fox, Champion Golfer of the Year, about his The Open, family legacy and why he loves playing golf in the Gulf…
Trophy wins rarely come with the level of drama and raw emotion seen in the thrilling climax of Ryan Fox’s recent Claret Jug chase. Celebrating his first career major title at 39-years-old, Fox walked away from Royal Birkdale on Sunday as the 2026 Open Champion, beating Cameron Young by a single stroke after a spectacular 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole.
“It’s going to take a while to sink in,” he told Golf Digest Middle East. “I’m incredibly proud of how it happened, how I controlled myself … I’ve never been in that situation before. I didn’t know if I had it in me.”
This humble perspective on life, legacy and long putts is emblematic of both Fox’s nature and his New Zealand lineage: “I’m very competitive. I obviously want to win, but you can be a good person, be personable and still be successful … I like to think New Zealand’s is a humble culture, if you are too arrogant, if you are too difficult, you get you get kicked back down to earth pretty quickly, our culture doesn’t stand for it.”
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Fox’s tournament got off to a slow start, with an opening round that saw him tied in 85th place. It was the third round where things really started to hit their stride, the Auckland-born power house recorded a 62-stroke outing (with nine birdies), equalling the lowest score in men’s major championship history. Fox held his nerve and that golden form for the final round, eventually earning him the distinction of becoming the first New Zealand Open champion in 63 years.
Sharing some of the glory, Ryan was quick to credit his sponsors, particularly his current partner – Arena (paired since 2023). He described the Arena Middle East team, who are responsible for supporting delivery of some the region’s biggest sporting events (including the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Saudi International, Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, Formula 1 Abu Dhabi, and the Dubai International Boat Show), as having been “great partners over the years” adding that he’s “ ended up having personal relationships with a lot of people involved.”
This spectacular sporting success is just the latest chapter in the Fox family legacy, his father, Grant Fox MBE wore the number 10 jersey for the All Blacks (New Zealand’s national rugby union team) and still holds the world record for most points scored in a Rugby World Cup tournament (126, recorded in 1987). Ryan’s grandfather on his mother’s side, was also a sportsman of considerable note, Merv Wallace – prolific cricketer and warmly regarded New Zealand Test Match Captain.
With such diversity of competitive sport in the Fox family tapestry, we could have easily seen his name in headlines connected to a very different type of trophy. “From my earliest memories, I just wanted to be a sportsman” Fox told us “I’d kick a rugby ball around. My mum played a lot of tennis, me and dad would play table tennis. We’d play snooker … It took me a while to find out what sport. I thought it was going to be cricket originally.”
The cricketing world’s loss was of course golf’s gain, a sport he approaches with his grandad’s “level-headed” demeanor and his father’s dogged competitiveness.
We asked Fox about how he sees this region’s growing influence on the modern world of golf: “The Middle East has been a huge player in golf since I’ve made it on the DP World Tour.”
“Having multiple events each year, especially Dubai and Abu Dhabi. But, we’ve also gone to Qatar and Saudi … And then with the creation of Liv … There’s no doubt, they they shook things up and had a huge impact. The Middle East is a is a big player in golf, and I think it will be for years to come.”
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And when it comes to his favourite courses in the region, Fox was equally complimentary “I enjoy Abu Dhabi golf club. That was one of my first events on the on the DP World Tour … Yas Links, brilliant golf course, probably one of the best condition courses we’ve played anywhere. There’s not a blade of grass out of place.”
“I’ve always got a soft spot for the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club. So close to the marina and that skyline, it’s a really good tournament setup … I’ve enjoyed playing Dubai Creek as well the last couple of years.”
“The Middle East has always been pretty good at doing things properly, they don’t do things by halves, it’s always a pleasure to go and play golf there.”
What’s next for the newly crowned champion? “Every part of my life going forward is going to be different. But if I’ve achieved a dream, and I’m not prepared to put up with what comes with that dream, then it probably shouldn’t have been a dream in the first place.”
“So whatever comes with it, whatever scrutiny, opportunity, pressures on my time, deep down somewhere I wanted this to happen, and I want to try to enjoy what’s coming as much as possible.”
On to the next one Mr Fox.
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