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Sir Bob Charles: Ryan Fox showing golf how the game should be played
Sport Nation • July 21st, 2026 10:04 am
New Zealand's Ryan Fox celebrates on the 18th green after winning the British Open | Photo: AP
There were few prouder Kiwis witnessing Ryan Fox's Open heroics than his champion predecessor and NZ golf great Sir Bob Charles.
The Kiwi golfing legend won the iconic Claret Jug back in 1963, paving the way for the next three New Zealanders to win a major.
Fox became the most recent on what was a famous Monday morning in Aotearoa sporting lore.
Sir Bob says there's plenty to love about the "refreshing" pace Fox sets as he plays the game, an approach he hopes becomes a new trend in the modern game.
"It's fantastic to see a fellow New Zealander win a major championship like the Open," Charles told Sport Nation's Scotty & Izzy.
"I was most impressed with the way he played. I think a lot of modern day players can learn a lot from the way that he plays, which is with speed. He doesn't mess around, he makes decisions quickly, hits the ball quickly, walks quickly between shots. Too many of these young people are lining up putts with their fingers and feet and they're a joke.
Bob Charles with the British Open golf trophy in 1963 | Photo: Photosport
"It's refreshing to see somebody like Ryan playing the game as it was meant to be played and getting on with it, and I just hope that this is a forerunner, setting a new style of the game."
It's a style which reduces some of the overthinking Charles believes can become a hindrance under the unique pressures the golf course demands.
"You get your backside into gear and your mind is neutral. You just get out there, and you give it a whack and chase after it and whack it again.
"I didn't dwell on the things that they dwell on today. That's another thing that slows things up. The young players have mental coaches, for goodness sakes.
"If I couldn't figure it out myself, I didn't need anybody else to figure it out for me."
Fox's momentous victory at Royal Birkdale netted him the mammoth sum of $NZ5.5 million in prize money, the kind of pay day Charles could only have dreamt when he raised the Jug at Royal Lytham and took home a scant $7,200.
Kiwis bet big on Ryan Fox to win The Open | Scotty & Izzy
Charles was just 27 years old at the time, and the triumph "opened plenty of doors" for the aspiring young Kiwi.
With a major now to his name, Sir Bob admits he'd love to see Fox now set his sights on conquering his home tournament and becoming even more of a visible inspiration for the next generation of NZ golfers.
"I'd love to see him come back here to New Zealand and concentrate on winning a New Zealand Open. I can't believe that he's won an Open Championship before he's won our New Zealand Open.
"I think that probably should be one of his priorities going forward is to compete in our New Zealand Open and of course the public here.
"This win is big for New Zealand golf and the young children with any kind of aspirations and goal setting, which I never did. I was just playing a game I loved.
"But I think that he's now flying the flag and setting an example for young kids - the opportunity is there if they work hard and have any kind of talent, they can do it too."
Listen to the full interview below:
