The Open Championship: Winners, Losers, and What Really Went Down at Royal Birkdale

Alright, let’s cut the crap. You win, you lose. That’s golf. Especially at The Open. You could be all Ricky Bobby about it, thinking if you’re not first, you’re last. But we’re not that basic. We’re gonna break down who showed up, who choked, and who was just… there. This was the last men’s major of the year. Royal Birkdale. It delivered. As always.

The Big Winner: Ryan Fox

This guy, Ryan Fox. The champ. He said he “sees things fast.” And he plays that way. Quick. Relentless. Committed. No messing about. He said it himself: “It’s not that difficult to pick a shot and pick a club.” Easy for him to say, right? Entering the week, he wasn’t exactly the favorite. But looking back? Perfect fit. Tough international player. Knows links courses. Knows English courses. Won big national opens. Lived the worldwide golf life. This week was a mess of rulings, controversies, and all that grey area crap. Fox just played. He handled what the course threw at him. No drama.

Think about that pot bunker on the 18th fairway Saturday night. Just right. Most guys would’ve shat themselves. Fox? Miraculous escape. Launched an 8-iron to the front of the green. Pure class. Compare that to Cameron Young on Sunday afternoon. Tried something similar. Hit the side wall. Bogey. He also bogeyed a fairway bunker on Saturday. Every shot counts the same, sure. But Fox’s play on 18? That was the difference. A glaring separator.

Young said it himself, “It’s a really difficult golf hole.” He wasn’t wrong. Fox, post-win, was buzzing. “I didn’t feel anything for the putt; everything was shaking that much. I was just happy to hit it somewhat near the hole, and to see it go in was incredible.” You love to hear it. That’s the stuff.

The Nearly Man: Cameron Young

Now, Cameron Young. His Sunday charge? Damn impressive. Gave the tournament life. Nearly snagged his first major. His 64 was two shots better than anyone else that day. Showed off that elite, well-rounded game. Gained strokes everywhere. Reminded us why he’s in the top tier. He finishes his major season with two podiums. Add that Players Championship win. Heartbroken? Probably. Proud? He should be.

“I was really just proud of the way I put it together, the way I did it more than the round itself,” Young said. He talked about Saturday night. “It’s one of those nights where you’re kind of — I don’t want to say down, it’s still just kind of a bad day at work, and I’m fortunate to have a cool job, but yeah, it’s a frustrating night.”

Then Sunday. “To come out, and I feel like I was really clear-minded all day, I had a really clear intention what I was going to do. Yeah, just executed that really, really well, and it happened to add up to 64. It could have been 68; it could have been 60. I just played really well.” That’s the mentality you need. He played his ass off. Came up short, but damn, he made us watch.

The Near Misses: Burns and Fleetwood

You make a list of the best golfers without a major? Cameron Young, Sam Burns, Tommy Fleetwood. They were all right there. Second, third, tied for fourth. Proof they belong. Also proof how damn hard it is to get that first one.

Sam Burns. Mixed emotions for sure. Anything this week was a bonus. He didn’t even expect to play. Then he’s got a two-shot lead heading into Sunday. Expectations skyrocket. Target on his back. Now he’s got another close call. His major finishes this year? T7, T26, 2nd, 3rd. Solid. Up there with anyone.

He was classy on the 18th green. Congratulated his playing partner. Said, “I played a lot of great golf this week. Unfortunately didn’t have my best stuff today. Got off to a bad start, made a couple of mistakes early,” he admitted. “Ryan played amazing. He’s a well-earned champion. Hat’s off to him. He did what he needed to do down the stretch. Ultimately just came up a couple short today.” Just came up a couple short. Ouch.

Tommy Fleetwood. The prince of Southport. The pressure was immense all week. You could feel it. Then he rolls in one of the only birdies of the day on 18. Massive roar. His chances peaked early in the round. Three under through eight holes. Then bogeyed 9, 10, 11. They vanished. But his resilience? Damn. His post-round words were always something. Heavy heartbreak, though.

“Of course, there’s only one person that gets to win it, and like my dream of winning the Open will carry on and I’ll continue to chase it,” he said. “But stuff like that, walking down 18 and the atmosphere out there, that was beyond stuff that I’ve dreamt of. That was just stuff that I never imagined. The crowds were amazing, and they made it the most special week ever for me, and I can’t thank them enough.” You gotta feel for the guy. The dream lives on, I guess.

The Disappointments: Si Woo Kim, Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy

Remember Si Woo Kim? He led at one point. Seemed like the heavy favorite to close out his first major. What followed was… weird. A limp to the finish. Off-the-tee misses. Aggressive plays that backfired. He finished T6. His 10th top-10 this season. Best major result ever. But that four-over 40 on the back nine? That’s gonna sting.

Bryson DeChambeau. What a week. His Friday triple-bogey got more headlines than the rest of the tournament. Then Sunday. Another triple-bogey. A shocking lost ball. Officially out of it. He played his final seven holes in two under. Finished T14. An anticlimactic end to a turbulent major season for him. He’s a character, that’s for sure. But this wasn’t his time.

Rory McIlroy. Opposite of Xander Schauffele, who grinded his way up. Rory started strong on Sunday. Two under through 10 holes. Four under for the tournament. Then… three over par the rest of the way. Faded to T40. A disappointing end to a major season that started with a Masters win. “I just felt like any time I got a little bit of momentum out there, I seemed to make a bogey,” he said. “Yeah, just one of those weeks I couldn’t get it going.”

He sounds a bit melancholy about it all. “This season feels very similar to last season. Obviously won the first major of the year, fell off a little bit after that, but still any time you win a major in a year, you have to be pleased about that.” Winning a major is great, sure. But it’s clear he’s chasing more. The next chapter? We’ll see.

The Surprises and Bright Spots

Let’s talk about Casey Jarvis. Did you see him play? Did you know he finished T6? On Sunday, he birdied 18 for a 66. Six under for the tournament. On a day leaders were dropping shots, he was making moves. Incredible for a young player whose major record before this was MC-MC-T65. He appreciated it. “All the guys at the top of the leaderboard were my role models growing up with Scottie, Rory and a few other guys,” he said. “I’ve been looking up to them, seeing how their game is, and to see my name on the leaderboard amongst the best players in the world, it truly means the world to me.” That’s what it’s all about.

And then there are the guys who moved up on Sunday. Didn’t contend for the win, but played damn well. Adam Scott shot a 66, jumping 29 spots to T9. His best major finish since 2019. Russell Henley also shot 66 for a T9. Fourth top-10 in his last six majors. Corey Conners (67), Chris Gotterup (67), and Rickie Fowler (66) all charged into the top 20. That’s the kind of finish that makes the nine-month wait for the Masters a little more bearable.

It’s just more fun when the ball lands and you don’t know quite where it’s going to end up. Links golf rules. It creates these incredible stories. The drama. The escapes. The near misses. It’s why we watch. Even with all the controversy and the weirdness that can creep into the game, like the stuff around Scottie Scheffler’s lost ball on the 71st hole. It’s part of the game. Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s a shitshow. But it’s always compelling. And ultimately, it’s about who plays the best when it matters most. This time, it was Ryan Fox.

Jon Rahm started and finished with double bogeys. Could have been a contender, but ended up T46. Justin Thomas had a rough Sunday, six bogeys and a double, finishing T65. Alex Fitzpatrick’s putter went cold, leading to a Sunday 77 and T71. Not the finishes they were looking for.

But hey, that’s golf. You win some, you lose some. You learn. You move on. We’ll see you at the Masters.