Ryan Fox secured his maiden major title on Sunday at the 154th Open Championship with a dramatic birdie three on the 72nd hole to reach ten under par and win by one over American Cameron Young.
The two-time HotelPlanner Tour winner was trailing by one with three to play at Royal Birkdale, but he made birdies on the 16th and 18th holes to become the Champion Golfer of the Year.
In doing so, Fox becomes just the third New Zealander to win a Major after fellow HotelPlanner Tour alumni Michael Campbell and Bob Charles.
“It’s surreal, to be honest,” he said. “It's something you dream of. I used to get up in the middle of the night to watch this tournament back home.
“It was always something that was there just to be able to play in it, first up, and now to be an Open champion, to be the Champion Golfer of the Year, it's unbelievable.
“You dream of being a Major champion. You want to do it whether you think it's a reality or not. I guess I probably didn't until the last couple of years.”
Fox graduated from the Road to Mallorca back in 2016, picking up a win at the Tayto Northern Ireland Open, as well as two other runner up finishes and five more finishes from fourth to tenth place.
The Kiwi’s other win came at the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in 2015 – he has since won seven more professional events, including the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, two PGA TOUR titles, and now his first Major.
Fox also becomes the second HotelPlanner Tour alumni to win a Major this year, following Aaron Rai’s victory at the PGA Championship, making 2026 the first time in history that there have been two separate alumni members winning Major championships in the same year. Brooks Koepka, 2013 Road to Mallorca graduate, did previously achieve this feat on his own, winning both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in 2018.
Three other HotelPlanner Tour former members finished in the top ten at Royal Birkdale, with 2011 HotelPlanner Tour Number One Tommy Fleetwood finishing in fourth, 2023 Road to Mallorca Number Two Casey Jarvis finishing sixth, and 2024 Rankings winner Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen finishing in ninth. In total nine of the top 20 were former members.
Three current HotelPlanner Tour members made the cut, with England’s Matthew Southgate shooting a final round 66 to finish in a share of 46th, Rankings leader MJ Daffue finishing in 71st, and Jack McDonald finishing 77th.
