2026 British Open: Ryan Fox becomes eighth player to shoot 62 at major

SOUTHPORT, England – One day after Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns added their names to the major championship record books, Ryan Fox joined the club.

The New Zealander became the eighth player to post a round of 62 at a men’s major following Herbert and Burns’ 8-under efforts a day earlier at The Open Championship. The footnote that four of those eight 62s, including Branden Grace at the ’17 Open, came at Royal Birkdale will have some golf purest questioning the English link’s status as a major venue, but not Fox.

“I think it’s just the good weather conditions. The course is brilliant. It’s obviously very firm and fast,” said Fox, who moved into a share of the lead alongside Herbert at 8 under. “In the mornings the greens are a little bit softer. Obviously, we had pretty much no wind until the last couple of holes today. You feel like you can shoot a score in the morning and the greens are perfect, that if you do roll it well, you feel like you hole everything.”

Fox, who teed off more than five hours before second-round leader Herbert, birdied four of his first six holes and admitted he started thinking about posting a special round at No. 10.

“It probably crept into my head on 10, but I wouldn’t say it was there,” Fox said. “Then when I birdied 14, I was like I’ve got a chance here. Obviously 17 you feel like it’s a birdie hole. If you can sneak one more there, I knew I had a chance to get to that 62 number.”

Here are the 72-hole records and lowest rounds in each of the four men’s major championships.

A birdie at the last would have set the new standard in men’s golf, but Fox found a fairway bunker off the tee and said he was fortunate to leave himself a 40-footer, which he two-putted for par.

“I was on the edge of it anyway. I was on a little upslope [in the bunker]. I had a number to get 8-iron over the front bunker, and I knew I had to hit it perfectly to get it over the lip. I did, but it only just got over the lip,” he said.

Schauffele’s reaction

Xander Schauffle, who was playing with Fox on Saturday and has experience shooting 62 at a major, was asked after the round what it was like to watch somebody else achieve the record.

“You’ll take a 62 anywhere — if it’s in a major, it’s a cherry on top. And on a Saturday it’s even better,” said Schauffele, who carded his first 62 at Los Angeles Country Club at the 2023 U.S. Open and followed it up a year later in his opening round at Valhalla where he went on to win the 2024 PGA Championship.

“He came out hot. He was hitting it close, making the putts he should make. Hit an incredible shot there on 18 out of that bunker. Took on risk when he had to, tried to stay aggressive.”

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Schauffele shot a respectable 4-under 66 and joked to reporters that he was “trying to hop on whatever wave [Fox] was on to the best of my ability.”

“Foxy is a great guy,” he added.

“Obviously trying to play the best we can, but when you’re even par starting eight back, you’re just trying to go and shoot a good number, and he did just that. I played well, too.”

After 36 holes of dramatic storylines, the 154th Open Championship rolls full steam into the weekend at Royal Birkdale.