Ryan Fox shoots 62 to join Open lead at Royal Birkdale

What happened:

Watch the highlights:

BBC Sport reports that Ryan Fox shot a 62 in the third round of the 2026 Open at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, joining Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns in producing a record-equalling lowest round for a men's major. The New Zealander's 62 moved him joint top of the leaderboard at the end of his third round.

That is the central tournament fact: Fox did not just post a low Saturday score, he matched a historic men's major benchmark and immediately turned it into leaderboard pressure at the Open.

Why it matters:

A 62 in a major changes the day for everyone else. It resets the scoring target, pulls attention toward the player in the clubhouse, and forces contenders still on the course to measure their own rounds against a number that is both rare and psychologically loud.

The additional context is that this was not the only 62 of the 2026 Open. BBC Sport notes that Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns had also produced record-equalling rounds, which makes this championship unusual in a very specific way: Royal Birkdale has now seen multiple players reach a score that historically sat at the outer edge of men's major scoring.

Tournament impact:

Fox ending his third round joint top gives the round immediate competitive weight. A record-equalling score is memorable on its own, but its value inside the tournament depends on whether it moves a player into winning position. In this case, the supplied facts say it did.

The phrase joint top is important. It means Fox had not separated from the field by the end of his round, but he had made himself part of the lead conversation entering the decisive stretch of the championship. That can alter how rivals approach the remaining holes and how the final round is framed.

What to watch:

The big question now is sustainability. A 62 can be the round that launches a major win, or it can become the high point if the next round cannot match the new expectations. The source does not provide Fox's full score to par, the identity of the players level with him, or how many contenders were still on the course, so the exact leaderboard shape still needs follow-up.

It is also worth watching whether the repeated 62s become a broader story about scoring conditions at Royal Birkdale. The supplied facts confirm the scores, but not the reasons behind them, so any claims about weather, setup, firmness, wind, or pin positions would go beyond the source.

Confidence:

Confirmed by the source: Ryan Fox shot 62 in the third round of the 2026 Open at Royal Birkdale, equalling the lowest round in a men's major, joining Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns in doing so, and moving joint top after his round. Still requiring follow-up: final third-round leaderboard positions, course conditions, and Fox's closing-hole details.