Fox posts best finish at a major
With the wind gusting, Molinari was the only player from the last four groups to break par.
Woods closed with a 71 to tie for sixth, three shots behind. It was the first time since 2007 that he trailed going into the final round of a major, had the lead and failed to win.
The victory adds to Molinari’s best stretch of golf. Now at a career-best No 6 in the world, he has won three times and been runner-up twice in the past two months.
All of the chasing pack made mistakes, big and small.
The biggest blunder belonged to Woods, his red shirt blazing against the yellow grass of dry Scottish summer. The roars for his two birdies could be heard from all corners of Carnoustie. It felt like old times, as everyone Woods was chasing began to collapse.
Woods was at seven-under, in control of his game and hitting shots that only he can. From a pot bunker on No 10, he took a bold and vicious swing to get it over the lip, over the burn and to the front edge of the green.
And then it all went wrong. He pulled his shot from the rough on No 11 into the gallery, fluffed a wedge short of the green, ran it by eight feet and missed the putt for double bogey. Another poor swing followed and led to another bogey, and just like that, Woods was two shots behind.
Spieth went from a bogey-free round on Sunday that gave him a share of the lead to a birdie-free round that led to a 76, his highest fourth round score in a major. Ryan Fox secured his best major finish at the British Open, finishing in a tie for 39th at Carnoustie.
The 31-year-old New Zealand No 1 improved with each round to end at two-over par.
Yesterday, Fox shot a oneunder-par 70 on the Scottish links course to improve by 22 places.
He was 10 shots behind the winner, Italy’s Francesco Molinari.
‘‘I’m happy, but a little frustrated as well, the last two days could have been significantly better,’’ Fox said.
‘‘I made my fair share of par putts, but left a few birdies out there on the greens, but that’s golf and Carnoustie has always had my number.’’
After a runner-up finish in the Irish Open and a top-10 in the Scottish Open amid an intense three weeks, Fox said he needed a break.
‘‘My emotions are all over the show, I have just been taking it week to week after great results in Ireland and Scotland. The support has been fantastic, there have been so many Kiwis here and I appreciate all the support.’’
He will have some time off before his next major, the US PGA Championship in St Louis on August 9-12.
Fox’s final round at Carnoustie had only one blemish, a bogey at 12, but he finally equalled his true bogey hole, the par-four 17th, by claiming a par. Birdies on five and 14 meant he finished under par.
His previous best major finish was his tie for 41st at the US Open this year, while his best PGA Championship finish is a tie for 54th.
In his first Open Championship outing in 2015, Fox finished in a tie for 49th, before missing the cut at the tournament last year.
Fox arrived at the Open ranked 84th in the world, but could be set for a minor bump following a strong showing.
‘‘To go the weekend bogey-free, it’s unthinkable. Playing with Tiger was another challenge. But I felt really good this morning. I felt I was ready for the challenge.’’