“Got it! Ryan Fox has done it! With a birdie at the last! New Zealand has another major champion... 11 feet 7 inches of a birdie putt that Ryan Fox will remember forever!” – Dan Hicks
“He had two great shots on 15 and 17 that ended up in poor places. He didn’t whine about it; he didn’t let his head go down…he handled the shot and ultimately, he prevailed because of his attitude and his perseverance through tough spots that he put himself in.” – Kevin Kisner on Ryan Fox
“A lot of putts dead on line, having the perfect speed right around the hole from long distance. He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with the rest of the afternoon.” – Kisner following Ryan Fox’s birdie on No. 4
“Cameron Young out of the gate acting like Steph Curry today: five straight threes.” – Terry Gannon on Young’s start to the final round
STAMFORD, Conn. – July 19, 2026 – NBC Sports presented final-round coverage of the 154th Open Championship from Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, across NBC and Peacock. With a birdie on the 72nd hole, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox captured his first major championship and the Claret Jug. Fox outlasted Cameron Young, who posted the clubhouse lead at 9-under par earlier in the day.
Mike Tirico hosted NBC Sports’ coverage, with lead play-by-play voice Dan Hicks joined by play-by-play announcers Terry Gannon and Steve Sands, and analysts Kevin Kisner, Brad Faxon, and Curt Byrum. On-course analysts Jim “Bones” Mackay, Smylie Kaufman, and John Wood contributed reporting and analysis throughout the broadcast, while Cara Banks conducted player interviews. Former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley joined the telecast for a portion of the final round, providing expert analysis on links golf strategy and the unique challenges of Royal Birkdale.
154th Open Championship – Final Leaderboard
| Player | Total | |
| 1. | Ryan Fox | -10 |
| 2. | Cameron Young | -9 |
| 3. | Sam Burns | -8 |
| T4. | Scottie Scheffler | -7 |
| T4. | Tommy Fleetwood | -7 |
ON CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY:
Mike Tirico: “Golf’s oldest championship will welcome its newest winner...for a few today, it’s their first or their best chance to join golf’s special circle.”
Tirico: “In just a few hours someone is going to take the same walk that some of the game’s greatest names have made up Birkdale’s 18th and into the major championship club.”
Brad Faxon: “[The winner] here is going to have to do some dramatic stuff…I just don’t think pars are going to win today.”
ON STRATEGY & CONDITIONS:
Tirico: “This Open has really had an odd feel. First, we haven’t seen a drop of rain, we haven’t seen those big gusting winds that affect the players and affect the games so impactfully. However, we have seen record scoring with those three 62s, but only 10-under at the top of the leaderboard.”
Smylie Kaufman on challenging opening tee shot on No. 1: “This is probably the most difficult tee shot in the Open Championship rota here. It is so challenging. We saw John Rahm hit it out of bounds here yesterday…it can be a day ruiner right from the beginning.”
Faxon on what to expect on wind conditions throughout the day: “These players actually know the conditions perfectly…it’s going to pick up in the afternoon, a lot of cross winds coming in as they finish…it will be more challenging later in the day.”
Jim “Bones” Mackay demonstrates the firmness of Royal Birkdale’s fairways with a basketball: “You want to know how firm these fairways are? Birkdale is a phenomenal golf course and a true links test and what that means is, when you get periods of no rain and then sprinkle in quite a bit of sunshine, you get very firm and fast conditions. What does that mean for our players today? It means the golf ball is going to be taking off on them going all kinds of places, further down the fairway, further into the rough, into the fairway bunkers, it’s going to be unbelievable to watch.”
ON RYAN FOX (-10, CHAMPION):
Mackay on Fox’s successful birdie putt on No. 2: “Not an easy putt to pick up the read on…it’s straight downhill to begin and not an easy one to figure out for Ryan.”
Dan Hicks: “Fox strikes early here at the 2nd. Ryan Fox from Auckland, New Zealand trying to join Bob Charles as a major champion a ’63 Open Champion and Michael Campbell at Pinehurst back in 2005 when he won the U.S. Open.”
Terry Gannon on Fox’s par save on No. 3: “Par putt for Ryan Fox…what a save. How good might that be by the end of the day?”
Kevin Kisner on Fox’s par on No. 4: “I really like the way he is rolling it. A lot of putts dead on line, having the perfect speed right around the hole from long distance. He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with the rest of the afternoon.”
Gannon on Fox’s unlucky tee shot on No. 15 to eventually make bogey: “Watch the bad break Ryan Fox gets off the tee at 15. Hits the riveted face, kicks, and right near that back part of the bunker and having to play out backwards…If he wins this championship, I think it’s the way he’s going to look at this, his attitude when he saw that lie, the terrible break he got. I love what he just did…so hard to do that.”
Hicks on Fox’s birdie to share the lead on No. 16: “Fox can tie right here…what a bounce back! He walks it in after what happened at 15 and [Cameron] Young has company again!”
Faxon on Fox’s unlucky breaks off the tee on holes 15 and 17: “That’s two of the worst breaks you could ever see on 15 and now on 17. That iron he hit off the tee went over 320 yards and rolled about 80 [yards] once it hit the ground.”
Gannon on Fox’s approach shot on No. 17 after unlucky break: “Great shot at a great time! Still has got a putt to take the lead at 10-under all by himself.”
Kisner on Fox’s fast play waiting to tee off on 18: “That’s funny. Already teed up and probably won’t hit for another three minutes.”
Kisner on Fox hitting driver on No. 18: “It’s such a long hole. If you pull it off it’s the only way to make the second shot become doable.”
Hicks: “He didn’t waste any time picking up the tee and that is threaded through those bunkers in great position.”
Hicks after Fox’s approach on No. 18: “Fox with an incredible look to win it! He is just on the edge of a dream-like scenario. Walking up to the middle of these gigantic grandstands below those yellow iconic open championship scoreboards with a chance to end it right here on the 72nd hole.”
Hicks on Fox’s birdie putt to win The Open on No.18: “Got it! Ryan Fox has done it! With a birdie at the last! New Zealand has another major champion! Just incredible stuff coming down the stretch…11 feet 7 inches of a birdie putt that Ryan Fox will remember forever and so will all of New Zealand and this crowd.”
Kisner: “I’ve never seen anyone hit a putt faster than that to win a golf championship!”
Hicks: “That’s how you get it done. That’s how you close it out. 4 birdies in the final 6 holes for Fox.”
Kisner on Ryan Fox post round: “I just loved the way he handled adversity. I think it’s a great lesson to all those aspiring TOUR players, all the kids out there wanting to play. He had two great shots on 15 and 17 that ended up in poor places. He didn’t whine about it; he didn’t let his head go down. He just walked in there, handled the shot and ultimately, he prevailed because of his attitude and his perseverance through tough spots that he put himself in.”
Hicks on Ryan Fox’s Olympic experience: “Certainly, proud of his country New Zealand. He has represented his country in the Olympics three times…he is one of just four male players to play in all three Olympic games. In fact, his yardage book has the Olympic rings on it.”
ON CAMERON YOUNG (-9, RUNNER-UP):
Gannon: “Cameron Young out of the gate acting like Steph Curry today: five straight threes.”
Gannon on Young’s birdie putt to share the lead No. 17: “How about Cameron Young? He started the day 7 shots off the lead and right now you’ve got a putt to share…tied at the top! Cameron Young to get to 10-under. Made that up and down look easy and it wasn’t.”
Hicks on Young’s bogey finish on No. 18: “A beautiful up and down even though it was for bogey for Young and a 64 in the final round, the low round of the day by two shots…and now he’ll wait.”
ON SAM BURNS (-8, THIRD):
Hicks on Burns’ first birdie of the day on No. 2: “Burns, about five feet from his first birdie of the day…good to get that first one early.”
Kisner: “That’s a real relief for Sam. Two beautiful shots at the 2nd. Fourth easiest [hole] on the golf course, so good job getting a birdie there.”
Faxon on Burns’ bogeys on No. 4 and 5: “You talked about avoiding mistakes and all of a sudden on [hole] 4 and [hole] 5…too early in the round to make this happen.”
ON BRYSON DECHAMBEAU (-4, T14):
Tirico on DeChambeau’s demeanor entering the final round: “He was in the middle of a lot of controversy, a lot of headlines, has remained so, but smiled to so many of the fans, really working the crowd.”
Hicks on DeChambeau’s 2-stroke penalty: “Every single player virtually in this field has been asked about the incident on the fifth hole on Friday.”
Hicks on DeChambeau finishing his final round on 18: “And after missing the cut in the first three majors of the year he does indeed make it deep into the weekend into the picture, but an eventful week to say the least for DeChambeau.”
ON SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (-7, T4):
Curt Byrum on Scottie’s putting struggles this week: “Statistically he’s almost dead last in the field in strokes game putting. He’s 73rd out of 78 players so that has really been the difference for him…but you never know. He could light it up out there today. But he needs to see the ball go in early…he has everything to gain by shooting a really low one, and not a lot to lose.”
Byrum on Scheffler’s approach shot on No. 1: “That’s how you get rid of bad putting, you just knock it to a foot. Boy did that have a good sound.”
Gannon on Scheffler’s missed birdie putt on No. 9: “Another missed opportunity. 17th birdie try inside of 10 feet this week and just can’t get it to go.”
Hicks on birdie attempt for Scheffler on No. 12: “Can he make one? Can he get it going here on the second nine…That one curls in and does go down finally for Scheffler! World No. 1 moving within two [shots of the lead].”
Paul McGinley: “The par 5s have killed him. He’s been even par for those par 5s all week long. That’s not good enough.”
McGinley on Scheffler’s frustration after tee shot on No. 17: “I think you just saw a combination of a week’s worth of frustration for Scottie on the tee.”
Hicks on Scottie Scheffler finishing on 18: “And this Open Championship reign is finally officially over for Scheffler, but boy did he take it to the final hole here with what looked like he didn’t have a shot after what was happening at 17. Tee to green as good as anyone. A few putts fall and it’s a totally different story for Scheffler.”
ON TOMMY FLEETWOOD (-7, T4):
Steve Sands on Fleetwood’s long birdie putt on No. 1: “Did that just happen to start? Something special in the air here in Southport perhaps! Tommy from halfway to Liverpool into the hole!”
Faxon: “What a putt, what a start, miles away. You can hear that from Anfield from here.”
Tirico on Tommy Fleetwood finishing his round: “He’s going to come up shy of that day that he’s dreamed about since he was 7 years old.”
Hicks as Fleetwood birdies No. 18: “What a finish for Tommy! Only the third birdie at 18 all day. No one played with more pressure on his back than Tommy Fleetwood and boy did he play well.”
ON SI WOO KIM (-6, T6):
Hicks on Kim’s bogey on No. 16: “Si Woo Kim who had it to 10-under now has three bogeys in the last six holes.”
Kisner after Kim’s chip onto the 18th green: “Just the wheels have completely come off for Si Woo. As soon as he started making bogey’s it felt like the game got really hard for him.”
ON RORY MCILROY (-1, T40):
John Wood: “It just felt like all week long at some point Rory was going to birdie five out of six and throw his hat in the ring, but it just hasn’t clicked for him.”
--NBC SPORTS--
