Sam Burns' stunning collapse at The Open Championship paves way for Ryan Fox's historic comeback

Burns, meanwhile, completed another collapse at a major tournament. At the 2025 U.S. Open, he led by one stroke entering the final round. He then shot a 78 on the final day, tying for seventh and allowing J.J. Spaun to win the tournament. Per The Athletic contributor Justin Ray, he's the first player to squander outright 54-hole major leads in consecutive years since Tom Lehman did so at the 1996 and 1997 U.S. Opens.

The loss stings for Burns, who is still aiming to win his first major, but he should soon forget about it. He has more important things to attend to. Burns' wife, Caroline, gave birth to their daughter, Belle, on July 3. The golfer almost skipped The Open before his wife encouraged him to play. He'll now get to compensate for the missed time.

Fox will also look forward to quality time with his family and to celebrating his victory with them. In his on-course speech after The Open, he said his kids told him to "bring back a trophy" the night before the final round. There are few golf prizes he can bring home that are more iconic than the Claret Jug.