A three-time winner and the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner in 2019, Fox produced some of the most exceptional shots witnessed in major championship history to claim the 2026 Open Championship by one stroke at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.

He joins Sir Bob Charles as New Zealand’s only Open champions and is just the fourth Kiwi major winner along with three-time major champion Lydia Ko and 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell.

It is just shy of 12 years since Fox earned his first win on a major tour at the 2014 WA Open at Cottesloe Golf Club, adding the Queensland PGA Championship at City Golf Club in Toowoomba early the following year.

As his status grew to include four wins on the DP World Tour and two on the PGA Tour, Fox continued to return to the tour where it all started.

It gives officials such as General Manager of Tournaments and Global Tour Relationships for the PGA of Australia, Nick Dastey, cause for optimism that will continue and Fox will play both the BMW Australian PGA Championship (November 26-29) at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney and the Capital.com Australian Open (December 3-6) at Kingston Heath Golf Club on Melbourne’s famed Sandbelt.

“Ryan knows his position within Australasian golf and how important he is to our tour and to our major events,” said Dastey.

“And now that he’s an Open champion – and as much as he now is based in the US – we’re extremely hopeful that he’ll be there for both weeks.

“The greatest thing I could say about Ryan is that he hasn’t changed from the moment he first turned professional. And this won’t change him, either.

“He is just a fantastic human being. He is someone who, if we could model the professional golfer on and someone who we would want as a tour member, he’s it. He is brilliant.”

“What this has done to amplify what our tour means, what Ryan’s done for our tour … He’s a player who continues to give back,” said PGA of Australia CEO, Gavin Kirkman.

“He is an Open champion, Champion Golfer of the Year, but he’s been coming back to Australia. He has been giving back. He has been bringing young people through.

“He has won all around the world now on every tour, but he started on our tour. He has won the Queensland PGA Championship and so forth. We couldn’t be happier for him.”

There is also hope among those behind the New Zealand Open that may extend to a return to Millbrook Resort in March; Fox not shying away from the role the PGA Tour of Australasia played in his formative years as a professional.

“It was where I learned professional golf and everything to do; the travel that’s involved, the grind that’s involved. It is a really underrated tour,” said Fox, who was tied 39th and tied 14th at the Australian PGA and Australian Open respectively last summer.

“The fields in the smaller events, I always thought were really, really strong. You felt like you had to play really well to contend at an Aussie Tour event back in the day.

“When I first got over to Europe, I kind of felt ready to compete with those guys purely from being on the Aussie Tour and having won a couple times. Knowing I could compete with those guys made me feel good about competing elsewhere in the world.

“It is a great pathway into other tours now and I would recommend anyone from the southern hemisphere to give it a crack if they want to do it. It’s a great place to learn the game.”

This will prove one of the most popular major championship triumphs in the locker rooms of tours across the globe. Min Woo Lee announced himself to the world with a quarter-final run at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 in his hometown of Perth in 2019. It would be Fox’s first DP World Tour victory, Lee making a mad dash back to Birkdale on Sunday to congratulate golf’s latest major champion.

“Very happy for him. He has done really well. I am very proud of him. Yeah, had some tears in my eyes and got some inspiration from it,” said Lee, who ended the week in a tie for 59th.

“He is exactly the same as when he’s on the golf course. He is a fast decision-maker, doesn’t let many things phase him. And yeah, he’s a really nice guy.

“I have known him for years now, playing on the Australian tour and all around now. We are good friends and just very happy.”