It’s always nice to have a short putt to win on the Old Course. Well, unless you’re Doug Sanders. On the final green of golf’s most cherished expanse of terrain, Ryan Fox dunted in a wee one to put the tin lid on a fine Alfred Dunhill Links Championship triumph.
Four shots off the lead with 18 holes to play, New Zealander Fox, the son of All Blacks rugby great Grant, hauled himself to the top with a sturdy four-under 68 for a 15-under total and a one stroke win over Callum Shinkwin and Alex Noren, with Rory McIlroy a further stroke back.
It was the 35-year-old’s second DP World Tour win of the season and earned him a whopping cheque for £763,000. There was plenty of poignancy attached to the victory too. Fox’s partner in the Pro-Am event down the seasons had been the Australian cricketing legend Shane Warne and his passing earlier this year created a huge sense of loss. “To be honest, the only person I can really think of at the moment is Warnie,” said an emotional Fox. “I felt like he was there with me today. He was missed by a lot of people this week.”
