Weekly Fantasy Golf Recap: What Does the Fox Say?

This article is part of our Weekly Fantasy Golf Recap series.

In one of the more entertaining sequences on the PGA Tour this season, Sam Burns and Ryan Fox dueled through missed opportunities in a long sudden-death playoff on Sunday at the Canadian Open.

Both players had their chances as they repeatedly played the par-5 18th -- Burns had a putt for the win on the first playoff hole, Fox on the second.  "A pillow fight," as Fox called it.

Then on the fourth extra hole, Fox hit "the best shot I ever hit," a 3-wood from 269 yards to 7 feet and, even though he missed the eagle putt, his tap-in birdie was enough to secure his second win on the PGA Tour -- and second in the past five weeks.

The victory got the 38-year-old New Zealander into this week's U.S. Open, having moved him up to No. 32 in the world rankings.

But that's not his highest position. Fox once was ranked 23rd in the world, showing the caliber of player he was and appears to be again.

He had to sink an 18-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole, just to get into a playoff with Burns, who torched TPC Toronto with an 8-under 62 and finished some two hours before Fox did.

Fox won the alternate-field Myrtle Beach Classic last month -- on a chip-in in a playoff -- then had good results at the PGA (T28) and Memorial (T20). 

There aren't many golfers who get into a major at the last minute and do well. But that's exactly what Fox did at the PGA. And now, as a long hitter and decent putter, whose numbers on approach are excellent this season, he could do it again this week at Oakmont.

"I saw enough stuff on social media and talked to a couple guys who went earlier this week, and it sounds like it's going to be a proper beat up. It will be fun," Fox said.

"... Probably going to take it easy on Monday and try to figure out Oakmont in two days and see what happens. It's nice to be in the field, that's for sure."

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Sam Burns
This one could sting for a while. Burns has not won since taking the old Match Play Championship early in 2023. It looked like he had this one wrapped up not once but twice – first, when Fox needed to make a long birdie putt to force a playoff and second, when Burns had a 5-footer for the win on the first playoff hole. It was a stunning miss for the golfer who leads the Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting. Regardless, it was another great week for Burns, who has been trending in the right direction for weeks now and carries that into the U.S. Open. He's up to No. 22 in the world rankings.

Kevin Yu
Yu was desperately trying to get into the U.S. Open. He had to get into the top 60 of the OWGR. He wound up third, and that left him at No. 62 in the world. As a consolation, he was among three players that got into next month's Open Championship as the Canadian Open was part of the Open Qualifying Series.

Cameron Young
It has not been a great season for Young, who is still looking for his first PGA Tour win. But on Sunday, he came to the 18th knowing a birdie would get him into a playoff. But his second shot found the greenside rough, he flubbed his chip and ended up with a bogey to slip into a tie for fourth. Young is already in this week's U.S. Open and, like Yu, got into the Open Championship.

Matt McCarty
McCarty was the third golfer to qualify for the Open Championship. He also tied for fourth. This was the first top-10 of the season. He won the Black Desert Championship in Utak last fall.

Byeong Hun An
An tied for sixth, his second top-10 of the season after a T8 at Bay Hill. This season has not gone as well as 2024, so this was an important week for An. It got him to 64th in the FedEx Cup standings. He'll still have work to do to get into the playoffs, but this was a big leap forward.

Andrew Putnam
We haven't been hearing much about Putnam. He's fallen well outside the top-100 in the world. He tied for sixth, a great week for him points-wise and financially. He hadn't had a top-10 in more than a year, since 2024 at Bay Hill. This result moved him to 89th in the point standings. He still has a ways to go if he wants to be in the playoffs.

Matteo Manassero
The 32-year-old Italian and former teenage star tied for sixth. He got PGA Tour membership via the DP World Tour, and this was his first top-10 since joining. It's hard to think this was anything more than just one good week.

Ludvig Aberg
Aberg tied for 13th, a week after tying for 16th at the Memorial. He needed a bit of momentum heading into the U.S. Open and now he has it.

Shane Lowry
Lowry opened with a 64 and was near the top of the leaderboard for a part of the week. He didn't play badly thereafter, but he didn't go super low and wound up tied for 13th. He now heads to Oakmont, where he carried a four-shot lead into the final round of the 2016 U.S. Open before collapsing.

Nick Taylor
The 2023 Canadian Open winner won low Canadian – yes, that's a real thing. Taylor tied for 13th.

Corey Conners
Conners had a bad Thursday with an even-par 70 and was never able to overcome that. The best Canadian golfer, he tied for 27th.

MISSED CUTS

Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Tom Kim, Justin Rose, Sungjae Im, Luke Clanton, Gordon Sargent, David Ford. McIlroy was a mess for his two rounds, shooting a 78 on Friday to finish not all that far from dead last. … Homa's troubles continued; he needed to win to get in the U.S. Open. Now, he'll have the week off. … Kim, Rose and Im have all been playing poorly of late. … Clanton, Sargent and Ford are all recent college players who just earned membership on the PGA Tour. Clanton is the big name of the trio who had a couple of runners-up last year on sponsor invites.

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