Ryan Fox is 39 years old, comes from a family of New Zealand sports royalty, and had never won a major in his life until Sunday at Royal Birkdale. He birdied 4 of his last 6 holes to win the 154th Open Championship at 10-under, edging Cameron Young by a single shot and becoming the first New Zealander to win The Open in 63 years, since Bob Charles did it in a playoff. That's the kind of story that doesn't just end when the trophy gets handed over, and Barstool's golf world has spent the days since treating it like it's still happening in real time.
The first wave was pure emotion. Before Fox ever got near a Barstool mic, regular golf fans were losing it in their living rooms watching him close it out, and Fore Play grabbed one of the best examples of it.
Huge day for these kids who randomly picked Ryan Fox to be their favorite golfer two months ago 💀
That's the kind of moment that makes a win like this land differently than your standard major. Fox wasn't the star some of these kids picked out of star power — the leaderboard just happened to reward the bet. From there, the jokes started almost as fast as the celebration did, with Fore Play zeroing in on how, exactly, a guy travels home with a 155-year-old silver trophy.
Ryan Fox is flying home with the Claret Jug in the overhead bin 💀
It was a bit, but it stuck around long enough that Fore Play had to follow up on it days later — turns out somebody, presumably Fox's team, got the memo. The Claret Jug reportedly upgraded seats for the flight to New Zealand.
No more overhead bin for the Claret Jug 💀 Ryan Fox is on his way home to New Zealand and has it in first class this time around.
Beyond the jokes, the actual golf media rounds have been just as steady. Fore Play put out a full Open Championship recap pod, then landed Fox himself for a sit-down where the emotional core of the win came out — specifically a line from his caddie, Dean, in the moment after the putt dropped.
Ryan Fox’s caddie Dean put it best… “Foxy, you probably only have one putt in your life to win a major championship, and you effing holed it.” What a moment. Presented by @Chevrolet
Fox also made the full Barstool press circuit this week, sitting down with Pardon My Take alongside Jimmy Tatro before hitting Riggs' recap show, where the reaction was less joke, more genuine respect — Riggs called him 'a great interview, very real, open, excited' and about as good a Champion Golfer of the Year as golf could ask for. For a guy who spent years as a four-time DP World Tour winner and PGA Tour title-holder without a major to his name, that kind of press-tour warmth feels earned rather than manufactured. He's not walking away with just a trophy — he's walking away with the entire golf media apparatus, half-joking about airline seating and all, fully in his corner.