The Open Championship: Ryan Fox makes golf history with 62 at Royal Birkdale to shoot up leaderboard into final pairing

Ryan Fox became the third player in two days at Royal Birkdale Golf Club to equal the record score of 62 at a major to put himself in the final pairing for the fourth round at the 2026 Open Championship.

Fox sits in second place two shots behind Sam Burns as he looks to join Sir Bob Charles, Michael Campbell and Dame Lydia Ko as Kiwis to win a golf major.

Fox matched Burns and Lucas Herbert who both equalled the all-time record low score for a round at a major championship on Saturday NZT by carding a 62.

Fox followed suit overnight to initially join Herbert at the top of the leaderboard on eight-under par. American Burns ended the day as the leader going into the final day after a 65 took him to 10-under.

Fox beat Burns in a playoff at last year’s Canadian Open to claim his second PGA Tour title on the year. Now they look to do battle as both chase a maiden major title, teeing off at 1.20am NZT.

Until yesterday, there had only been five rounds of 62 in major history, but there are now eight, made by seven different players.

“I think it’s just the good weather conditions. The course is brilliant. It’s obviously very firm and fast. In the mornings the greens are a little bit softer,” said Fox on the reason for the spate of 62s.

“You feel like you can shoot a score in the morning and the greens are perfect, that if you do roll it well, you feel like you hole everything.”

After six birdies in the opening 10 holes, Fox’s shot at a historic 61 was undone by a bogey at the 13th.

He bounced back with three birdies in the final five holes to climb into contention going into tomorrow’s final round.

Fellow New Zealander Kazuma Kobori also had a strong day, shooting a three-under 67 to move to four-under and a share of 11th.

South Korea’s Si Woo Kim shares second place with Fox at eight-under and tees off in the penultimate group with American Ryan Gerard (seven-under) with Herbert (seven-under) and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg (six-under) also in contention.

The closest major winner to the lead is Bryson DeChambeau who shot a one-under 69 to sit at six-under after his two-stroke penalty at the end of round two.

England’s best hope is Tommy Fleetwood who sits at five-under after a one-under 69. World No 1 Scottie Scheffler and major winners Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele and Shane Lowry are all within striking distance at four-under while Rory McIlroy is likely out of contention, eight shots back, at two-under.

Charles is the only Kiwi to lift the Claret Jug, after winning the 1963 edition in a 36-hole playoff at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club. Ko became the first New Zealand female to win the women’s Open in 2024.

Fox is yet to have a top 10 finish in his past 28 major appearances but he has two professional wins on British soil, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2022 followed by the BMW PGA Championship in 2023.

New dad bounce for Burns

Burns is yet to win a major, but finished just one shot behind Wyndham Clark at the US Open last month.

The world number 18 was not even supposed to travel to England’s north-west coast with his daughter due in the middle of July.

But baby Belle arrived 11 days early and Burns was given the go-ahead by his wife to compete.

Burns said becoming a dad eases the pressure and puts things into perspective ahead of a potentially career-defining round.

“Tomorrow all I can do is play my best and see where it puts me. Go out tomorrow and try to execute,” he said.

“Ultimately whatever happens tomorrow it doesn’t define who I am. That’s a very freeing thing to know. I wish my family was here and counting down the minutes to get home and see them again.”

- With AFP