New Zealand’s Ryan Fox felt the presence of his late friend Shane Warne as he confirmed his world Top 50 status with victory in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Old Course.
The 35-year-old son of All Black legend Grant picked up his second win of 2022 but easily the biggest of his three on tour.
He takes the $816,000 first prize with a final round 68 for a 15-under total of 273 having wiped out a four-shot lead of England’s Richard Mansell.
Sweden’s Alex Noren and England’s Calum Shinkwin shared second with Rory McIlroy’s final round charge of 66 ending two strokes short.
Close friends with Australian cricket legend
Would be incredibly poignant if Ryan Fox can get it done at the Dunhill. Partnered the late, great Shane Warne in last year’s tournament. 2 clear with 7 to play. pic.twitter.com/o7B4Hjna7B
— Michael Verity (@MichaelVerity) October 2, 2022
Fox played with the Australian cricket legend as his amateur partner for many years at the Dunhill. Warne died suddenly at the age of just 53 in Thailand in March.
“To be honest the only person I can really think of at the moment is Warnie,” he said after his win. “He meant a lot to this event and we were great mates, it’s just such a shame he’s not here. I’m going to enjoy this one with the family.
“What would he be saying right now? He’d probably be wondering how many vodkas he could get in this trophy!”
Fox said he felt that Warne was with him in a stressful final round.
“There was some luck out there, maybe it was his presence,” he added. “I was pretty nervy the last three holes, I didn’t hit very good shots on 16, 17, 18.
“He was definitely helping out there, with the long putt on 15, the tee shot on 16.”
The 56 foot birdie putt on 15 gave Fox the key advantage for the final few holes, but perhaps he was due the luck.
He’s lost two play-offs on tour to outrageously long putts, first to Scotland’s Russell Knox at the Irish Open of 2018 and to Victor Perez in the Duitch Open earlier this year.
Puzzling omission from Presidents Cup
Congratulations to @ryanfoxgolfer who becomes the first Kiwi to win the #dunhilllinks pic.twitter.com/4Dzy7IaQkB
— Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (@dunhilllinks) October 2, 2022
Fox did win the Ras Al Kahaimah Classic in the Gulf in February by five strokes, and with consistency all season had moved into the top 50 in the world. His non-selection for the International team in the recent Presidents Cup was a very puzzling one.
This was a definitive answer to that, as it will move him to 25th in the world rankings, which secures a Masters debut next spring.
“I haven’t had a chance to think about that yet but I’m sure I’ll get many messages about it tonight,” he said. “It’s unreal.
“Today I just tried not to make mistakes. I knew where I was and it’s a hard golf course to do that. It’s an easier golf course when you’re chasing and you have some chances.
“Bad shots can be really penal those last five holes. I was just trying not to hit really bad shots and I think I got away with it for the most part.”
Mansell’s big lead gone by the fifth
👏 Our leader, @ryanfoxgolfer rolls in a fantastic birdie putt pic.twitter.com/dvTpYb5MKa
— Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (@dunhilllinks) October 2, 2022
Mansell’s formidable four-shot advantage for the final round lasted just five holes. He overshot the second green, pitched back into bunker at the back of the 16th green, and took six.
Fox birdied and then the long fifth which tied them up. The Kiwi birdied 7 to go ahead for the first time, and after Mansell bogeyed 11 – having to come out backwards from a greenside bunker – and then also 12, he trundled in with a 76.
Fox bogeyed the short eighth after missing the green left and the challenge seemed to be coming from as far back as Rory McIlroy, who rattled off six threes in a row from the eighth to suddenly give himself a sniff of a chance.
But as at the Open in July Rory’s charge floundered on the 14th, where a mere par five after finding the bunker at the back of the green left him with too much to do.
He also visited the Road Hole bunker for a bogey five there, meaning a birdie at the last was only good enough for a 66 and a share of third place.
’14 was a bit of a momentum killer’
Rory McIlroy is on a Sunday charge 👀
He is now two off the lead. #DunhillLinks pic.twitter.com/VZokvOC29c
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 2, 2022
“Not getting a birdie at 14 was a bit of a momentum kiiller,” he admitted. “I’d said 64 might have a chance and it seems I might come up a couple short. But that was a decent target.
“17 is playing very tough today with the wind off the right and it’s tricky to navigate that. “
Fox meanwhile pushed out to a three-shot advantage, also failing to birdie 14 but draining by a huge 56 foot birdie putt from the back of the 15th.
He played the 17th clumsily for a five, as England’s Calum Shinkwin made a late bid with three birdies in the last five holes
But even one stroke of a lead was good enough for the 18th, where a par confirmed victory.