India, July 22 -- Ryan Fox is the British Open champion, and it's going to take time for that to sink in no matter how many times he watches the replay of a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole, or how many times he stares at his name on the base of the silver claret jug.

"I don't know if it's something I've dreamed of. I don't know if it's something I ever thought was possible," Fox said after his one-shot victory Sunday. "But we're here now." It's how he got there that sets him apart from so many other names on golf's oldest trophy.

Never mind the son of All Blacks rugby great Grant Fox didn't play golf competitively until he was 17, or that all he ever wanted was to have a card on any tour. Fox had never finished better than a tie f...