It’s not uncommon for a golfer to withdraw from a tournament shortly after winning a major, and Ryan Fox is the latest to do so.
Hours after claiming the Claret Jug at the 2026 Open Championship, Fox withdrew from this week’s 3M Open. Aaron Rai did the same thing in May after he won his first major, backing out of the Byron Nelson CJ Cup.
Wyndham Clark won the 2026 U.S. Open but chose to play in the Travelers, a signature event with a $3.6 million first-place prize.
Rory McIlroy, however, WD’d from a signature event at the RBC Heritage, one week after he won his second straight green jacket at the Masters.
Fox, who was 56th in the Official World Golf Ranking before heading to Royal Birkdale, has vaulted to 22nd. He can also likely start being a tad more picky in where he plays.
Other field changes for the upcoming 3M Open include the addition of Stefano Mazzoli, who won the Corales Puntacana Championship on Sunday in just his third start on the PGA Tour, which granted him full membership on the Tour with a two-year exemption.
Cameron Jourdan is an assistant editor of Golfweek, covering college and amateur golf, the PGA Tour and plenty more. Follow Cameron on X/Twitter (@Cam_Jourdan) or Instagram (@GolfweekJourdan).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Ryan Fox withdraws from 2026 3M Open hours after winning The Open
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