Open Championship winner Ryan Fox has suggested that Scottie Scheffler was taken aback by just how quick he is on the golf course after they played together earlier this year.
Fox produced a stunning performance on Sunday to secure the Claret Jug. He becomes only the second New Zealander to win The Open Championship.
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The 39-year-old deserves enormous credit for the way he attacked the golf course in the final round. Fox showed absolutely no fear coming down the stretch on Sunday.
He also did not see the need to take his time.
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It was remarkable just how quickly Fox got on with hitting the putt on the 72nd hole that would decide the tournament.
The applause for Sam Burns was just finishing up when Fox was over the ball and ready to hit. In fact, he wasted no time for the large majority of the day, as he clearly decided that he was better off not taking too long over each shot.
Few golf fans are going to have any complaints if more PGA Tour players were like Ryan Fox. In fact, his peers seem to struggle to believe just how little time he takes, as Fox explained when asked on Sunday whether he knows anyone who plays the game quicker than him.
“I can think of one maybe, Renato Paratore, back in the day. He used to hit while his name was getting announced on the first tee,” he joked.
“He’s probably the only one that did it. I played with Scottie Scheffler earlier in the year, and I can’t work out if this was a burn or a compliment. We played at Phoenix, and we’re in a three-ball on Saturday. We walk off the ninth tee, and he goes, Foxy, it doesn’t even feel like you’re in the group. It just feels like we’re playing in a two-ball, you hit it so fast. It’s just in the air.
“You guys can tell me if it’s a burn or a compliment. It is just always how I’ve played. I’m kind of glad I kept that routine down the stretch.”
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Fox is certainly an anomaly when it comes to the professional game, with the majority of players seemingly much more methodical.
That obviously has the potential to cause Fox problems, too. It must be harder to get into his preferred rhythm when he is aware that he is going to be waiting on a consistent basis.
Fox went on to admit that it did take him a while to work out how to handle not always being able to play at his own pace.
But he explained how playing with the likes of Xander Schauffele and Sam Burns at Royal Birkdale proved to be beneficial for him.
“I think just playing professional golf in general, it used to frustrate me a lot early on, and I’ve just got better at switching off and talking to Dean, my caddie, or talking to my playing partners,” he said.
“Xander and I did a great job of that yesterday. I get along with Sam really well. There was a few chats going on down there, but we were probably a bit more focused today than we were yesterday.
“Yeah, you only really need to concentrate properly 30 seconds, a minute before hitting a shot, and then you can switch off again. That’s just the strategy I’ve had going pretty much my whole golf career.”
It is difficult to imagine the likes of Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau changing their playing style just off the back of Fox winning The Open Championship.
However, Fox’s victory does highlight that there is no need for some players to take so long over a number of the shots they face during a regular PGA Tour event.
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