In this week’s “The Starter,” two birdies on the 72nd hole carried different public weight but similar career force. Ryan Fox made his at Royal Birkdale to win The Open after beginning the week tied for 85th, while Stefano Mazzoli made his at Corales to turn a four-shot Sunday chase into PGA Tour membership through 2027. Around them, Cameron Young, Todd Clements, Gordon Sargent, and Will Gordon left with results that changed the shape of what comes next, even without the trophy.

The Open Championship: Fox Won From Places No Champion Had Occupied

Fox opened with a 72 and stood tied for 85th, seven strokes behind. A Friday 68 moved him through the cut but left him tied for 52nd and eight back.

No previous Open champion had been positioned lower after either 18 or 36 holes.

The week changed Saturday. Fox shot 62, matching the lowest round in men’s major championship history, and moved into the final pairing. He became the first player to shoot 62 in an Open he went on to win and only the second player to post that score during a major victory.

Sunday required a different kind of round. Fox birdied Nos. 13 and 14, took bogey after an impossible bunker lie at the par-3 15th, answered with birdie at No. 16 and lost another scoring chance when his drive found sand at the par-5 17th.

He still reached the 18th tied with Young at 9 under.

Royal Birkdale Made Him Earn The Last Birdie

The final hole had played as the most difficult of the week and allowed only 28 birdies over four rounds. Fox found the fairway, hit a 9-iron inside 12 feet and made the putt for a closing 68, a 10-under total of 270 and a one-shot victory.

That birdie completed Fox’s first major title in his 29th major start and 10th Open appearance. At 39, he became the second player from New Zealand to win The Open, joining Bob Charles, and the victory extended the championship’s run of first-time winners to 13.

The result also completed a globally varied men’s major season. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, Aaron Rai of England, Wyndham Clark of the United States, and Fox of New Zealand won the four majors, only the second time the champions have represented four different countries.

Young’s 64 Made The Winning Birdie Necessary

Young began Sunday tied for 20th and seven strokes back. He shot the round of the day, a 64, despite bogeying the 18th, then waited more than two hours while the final groups tried to reach or pass his 9-under total.

Fox was the only player who did.

Sam Burns, the 54-hole leader, closed with a 72 and finished third. Scottie Scheffler and Southport native Tommy Fleetwood tied for fourth, with Fleetwood completing all four rounds in the 60s and receiving one of the week’s most emotional receptions on the final hole.

Lucas Herbert tied for sixth, recorded his best major finish, and secured a place in next year’s Open at St Andrews. The leaderboard did not produce a consolation trophy, but it did produce evidence, exemptions, and unfinished business for several players who stayed involved deep into Sunday.

The Corales Puntacana Championship: Mazzoli Won More Than The Trophy

Mazzoli began the final round four strokes behind Clements and shot a 6-under 66. His birdie on the 18th took him to 20 under and produced a one-shot victory over Clements and Sargent.

It was Mazzoli’s first PGA Tour victory in only his third start. The four-shot comeback was the largest in tournament history, and the 29-year-old Italian accepted PGA Tour membership through 2027 after the round.

Mazzoli described Sunday less as pressure than as a chase. Because he was behind, the assignment stayed narrow: create one more chance, make one more birdie and see where the leaderboard stood near the finish.

That approach fit a recent change in his team. Four weeks earlier, Mazzoli asked his childhood friend Frederico to caddie because he needed more fun, better rhythm and a familiar voice when the round became difficult. The adjustment did not remove the stakes. It gave him a practical way to carry them.

Corales Also Changed The Week For The Players Behind Him

Clements led or shared the lead after each of the first three rounds, closed with a 71, and tied for second for the best PGA Tour finish of his career. He was disappointed but measured afterward, saying golf did not define him and crediting Matt Wallace’s advice to stay in his own lane.

Sargent joined Clements at 19 under after a final-round 67. The runner-up finish was also his best on the PGA Tour, and he left with the kind of confidence that comes from contending rather than merely believing he can.

Will Gordon did not know until Monday that he would be in the field. He finished tied for fourth after a 66, earned his first top-10 since 2025 and secured another start next week. Ben James shared fourth for his first PGA Tour top-10 in his fifth start since turning professional.

Mazzoli received the full reward. The players immediately behind him still left with proof, access or momentum that did not exist when the week began.

What We’ll Remember From This Week

What I think I will remember most is that both trophies were won with birdies on the final hole, but neither championship was created by one putt.

Fox spent two days playing back into The Open, then absorbed bad bunker breaks late enough that either one could have ended his chance. Mazzoli spent Sunday reducing a four-shot deficit one opportunity at a time until the last one mattered.

The 72nd hole is remembered because it makes the answer visible.

The work that creates that answer usually happens earlier, in the shots that keep a player close enough to have one.

That was true at Royal Birkdale and Corales. The final birdies changed what came next because Fox and Mazzoli had preserved the chance to make them.