Ryan Fox had barely slept after holding Cameron Young by a single stroke to win the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

And after that, less than 24 hours later, he was standing directly behind Young in a British Airways check-in line at Manchester Airport, then seated one row behind him on the same flight to London in a surreal way on the flight home to London.

During his recent appearance at GOLF’s Subpar podcast on YouTube, Fox said the encounter could have been uncomfortable, but it wasn't.

“He was great,” Fox told GOLF’s Subpar.

Fox was seated directly behind Young, with the Claret Jug — and a replica trophy — taking its time getting stowed in the overhead bin.

A few nearby passengers weren't thrilled about the delay. Fox wasn't in a hurry to speed things up, either.

“Some people were probably getting a little annoyed,” Fox joked. “But I wasn’t going to be the person who loses the Claret Jug and puts it in the cargo hold.”

The 39-year-old New Zealander closed with a 2-under 68 and finished at 10-under 270 on the final round to become the second Kiwi to win the Open, after Bob Charles in 1963.

The celebration after the trophy was just as memorable as the finish. It started in the players’ lounge at Royal Birkdale while Fox’s head was still spinning.

Someone had the brilliant idea to pour red wine into the Claret Jug and pass it around, pausing only when tournament photo obligations pulled him away.

“I had to go downstairs to take more photos so I had to tip the wine out of the Claret Jug, which was a bit of a shame for the wine,” Fox told Golf's Subpar podcast hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz with a laugh.

Roughly 40 people cycled through the party, including PGA Tour players Thomas Detry and Min Woo Lee. It rolled on until the venue staff issued an ultimatum: leave now, or all the cars taking them home would be gone.

So the whole group picked up and moved the party back to Fox’s rental house in Birkdale for round two.

With a 4:15 a.m. car booked for the airport, Fox made the only call that made sense: skip sleep entirely. And after that, the surreal coincidence happened with him at the airport.

Back in New Zealand, Fox trades the Claret Jug spotlight for pie and sleep

Fox landed in Auckland on Friday, where his father — former All Blacks player Grant Fox — met him at the airport alongside his wife, Anneke, and their daughters, Isobel and Margot.

“I had a glass of wine, took a couple of sleeping pills and had more sleep last night than I’ve had the last four nights. It’s nice,” Fox said, per AP News.

“I’m sure jetlag’s going to get me and I feel like I’m going to be pulled in every direction possible over the next 10 days or so we’re home. It’s definitely nice to be home.”

Sleep was the top priority, but Fox already has his eyes on a few other things. A few hours after landing, local media found him at his favorite bakery, working through a steak, bacon, jam, and cheese pie.

He wants to show the Claret Jug to as many New Zealanders as possible.  There’s fishing on the list too, and maybe some golf with his mates — if the weather cooperates.

“I’ve got the golf clubs. We’ll see how it goes over the next couple of days. I’d like to catch up and play with some mates. I’ve had a look at the forecast and it doesn’t look real good over the next little while. I don’t want to play golf in the rain if I have to. But I’d like to get out on the course,” he said.

Read more at Club Golf!

Written by

Md Saife Fida