Ryan Fox Fires 62 to Share Open Lead at 8 Under

Q: Did recent renovations make Royal Birkdale too easy, or does the record scoring reveal a new level of elite golfer performance?

Royal Birkdale does not look “too easy”; the scoring surge is better explained by benign conditions and elite players exploiting them. The renovation evidence points the other way. Mackenzie & Ebert’s work was designed to toughen and modernize the course: a longer 602-yard par-5 14th, a new 241-yard par-3 15th, altered green complexes with steeper run-offs, rebuilt and repositioned bunkers, and a more demanding 18th with a tighter landing area. Players, including Scottie Scheffler, have described some of the new surrounds as severe and exacting, not soft. What changed this week is the setup nature gave the course. Reports from Royal Birkdale describe brown, firm-and-fast turf and, crucially, unusually light wind for a links major. Even the architects said you cannot plan for those conditions. On a course whose main defense is normally the Irish Sea breeze, that matters. Royal Birkdale has always produced very different winning scores depending on weather, from over par in harsh years to deep under par in calmer ones. The three rounds of 62 in one championship, including Ryan Fox’s on Saturday, still say something important about the modern player. Today’s elite golfers are longer, more precise, and better equipped to manage firm links conditions than previous generations. But the record scoring is not strong evidence that the redesign failed. It is stronger evidence that a stern course, when stripped of much of its wind defense, can be attacked by a historically strong field.

3 articles · Updated · golfchannel.com · Jul 18

Ryan Fox matched the men's major low round with a 62 at Royal Birkdale, finishing Saturday's early action tied for the Open lead at 8 under.
Five birdies in his first eight holes sparked the charge, and Fox stood one birdie from a historic 61 before a closing par left the record at 62.
The 62 made Fox the seventh man to shoot that number in a men's major and the third player to do it this week at Royal Birkdale.
The surge came in another volatile round after Friday featured two 62s that were partly overshadowed by a two-stroke penalty, underscoring how unusually chaotic this Open has become.