Fox walked off the 18th green tied for the lead in the 154th Open
Another round of the 2026 Open and another entry into the history books. Ryan Fox became the latest to shoot 62 in a major championship on Saturday as the man from New Zealand carded a round of 8 under in the third round of the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale.
Fox joins a growing list of players — that includes Sam Burns and Lucas Herbert who accomplished the same in Round 2 — to sign for a 62 in major championship. Of the eight rounds of 62 to occur in a major championship, four have occurred at Royal Birkdale when factoring in Branden Grace’s 62 (the first ever) in the third round of the 2017 Open.
The fast-paced right hander started the weekend at The Open outside the top 50 on the leaderboard at even par and walked off the 18th green in a tie for the lead with Herbert at 8 under. Unlike Herbert and Burns the day prior, Fox gave himself a look at 61 from 47 feet, 6 inches thanks to a spectacular approach shot from the fairway bunker that somehow found the putting surface.
Lowest rounds in major championship history
|
Ryan Fox |
2026 Open (Round 3) |
Royal Birkdale |
62 |
|
Sam Burns |
2026 Open (Round 2) |
Royal Birkdale |
62 |
|
Lucas Herbert |
2026 Open (Round 2) |
Royal Birkdale |
62 |
|
Shane Lowry |
2024 PGA Championship (Round 3) |
Valhalla Golf Club |
62 |
|
Xander Schauffele |
2024 PGA Championship (Round 1) |
Valhalla Golf Club |
62 |
|
Xander Schauffele |
2023 U.S. Open (Round 1) |
Los Angeles Country Club |
62 |
|
Rickie Fowler |
2023 U.S. Open (Round 1) |
Los Angeles Country Club |
62 |
|
Branden Grace |
2017 Open (Round 3) |
Royal Birkdale |
62 |
Fox started his day in a flurry. After penciling a 4 onto his scorecard on No. 1, he proceeded to card seven straight 3s — five of which doubled as birdies. He rolled the rock beautifully and holed a total of 140 feet worth of putts, including an unlikely bid from 54 feet, 6 inches on the par-4 6th.
Making the turn in 5-under 29, he added a birdie on No. 10 to put the major championship scoring record on notice. A bogey on the tough par-4 13th brought the boil down to the simmer, but the heat was turned back on high thanks to three birdies over his next four holes, which featured a high quality approach into No. 16 and beautiful touch on the next.
After finding a spot of bother off the tee on his last, Fox mustered up the courage to go for the green and did so successfully. He gave himself an outside look at his own slice of history in the form of a 61, but he instead settled for a 62 and a place atop the leaderboard of the final major championship of the year.