LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — Their journeys to professional golf couldn’t have been more contrasting. Lydia Ko was a child prodigy; Ryan Fox was a late bloomer who didn’t turn pro until age 25. Ko rose to fame when, at 14, she became the youngest winner of a tour event and, at 18, became the youngest major winner. Fox was 39 when he won his first major at the British Open two weeks ago.
But they are united by their homeland of New Zealand and by shared experiences in team rooms. Those moments began with pranks at the 2010 World Amateur Teams Championships. These days, the New Zealand bonding sessions play out on a far bigger stage—at the past three Olympic games.
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“We went to World Team Ams when I was 14,” Ko recalled on Wednesday at the AIG Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to say it, but he may or may not have tricked me to think my Coke glass was—I thought it was my Coke glass—but it was red wine. He’s always been the same.”
Which is why, two weeks ago, Ko was in tears watching from the U.S. as Fox took the British Open by the scruff of the neck with weekend rounds of 62-68 at Royal Birkdale. Fox stole the claret jug from clubhouse leader Cameron Young with three-under performance in his final six holes, including a walk-off birdie on the 72nd to win by one.
“I was on the West Coast in the U.S. so there was quite a bit of time difference,” Ko said Wednesday. “I went to go work out and everywhere I went I was like, ‘Please turn on the Open.’ It ended up not working on the TV, so I had my trainer turn it on my cell phone and I [also] had it on my cell phone. I can’t remember my work out at all.”
Ko dashed home just before Fox hit his booming drive down the 18th fairway and his now iconic 9-iron approach and fist-pumping reaction to holing a 12-foot birdie putt. Ko’s husband even dashed into the lounge room, concerned, at his wife shouting at the TV.
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“I took an Uber ride back home; he was on the 18th, and when I saw that drive I was like so relieved but like so excited, super pumped,” Ko said. “I screamed as I went in [to the house]. I closed the door and I screamed. I was like, ‘Yes!’ My husband ran out and was like, ‘What’s happening?’ Ten seconds later I was just crying. It was emotional for me. I can only imagine what it was like for him.”
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Oisin Keniry/R&A
Of all golf pros, Ko is better placed than most to appreciate what the breakthrough major victory meant for Fox personally, and for the small population (5.3 million) of New Zealand. It meant Fox cemented his own place in sports history, having grown up being known as the son of Grant Fox, one of the country’s greatest rugby players for the national All Blacks team and the grandson of a former New Zealand cricket captain.
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“I think when you grow up like that, you could easily go the other way and be really cocky and kind of take things for granted,” Ko said. “He’s really not like that. He’s just a great guy and I think he’s super humble. I was grateful that he talked so highly of me on many occasions [in press conferences], but doesn’t surprise me because that’s just the type of person he is.”
Fox already had two PGA Tour titles and four on the DP World Tour before the British Open, but former World No. 1 Ko remains New Zealand’s most successful golfer. Her three majors include the 2024 Women’s British Open at St. Andrews, and she entered the LPGA Hall of Fame with her gold medal at that year’s Olympics in Paris.
Despite Ko’s glittering career of 23 LPGA victories, adding to her legacy still drives the 29-year-old.
“I think I would be lying if I said it’s not result based,” Ko said. “Every week I tee it up I want to play well.”
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Including this week, at the 50th staging of the Women’s British Open. It was at Royal Lytham that Sir Bob Charles became the first New Zealander—and left-hander—to win a major by claiming the 1963 British Open.
Not to mention, it’s only an hour away from Royal Birkdale. And, as it happens, Fox is back in New Zealand parading the claret jug around his homeland.
“Yeah, I think it would be very special [to win]; I think this is the toughest Women’s Open championship venue I have ever played.” Ko said. “It would be cool to channel my inner Foxy, his fearlessness, out there for me these next few days.”
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