Ryan Fox’s winning streak has pushed his latest winnings past the $4 million mark

Ryan Fox was unable to defend his Dunhill Links Championship title, but the Kiwi golfer’s seasonal earnings have increased significantly once again.

Fox’s second-place finish behind Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick on Tuesday (NZT) earned him a whopping €338,690 (NZ$594,302) and surpassed last month’s astonishing winnings.

The 36-year-old, who has three top-three finishes in his last four starts on the European Tour, earned a whopping $4.2 million during his hot streak.

Most of that total comes from his $2.6 million winnings last month at the BMW PGA Championship, the tour’s premier event.

Fox, whose 2023 European Tour earnings (including majors) exceed $6.1 million, also finished third in the Irish Open last month, earning him nearly half a million dollars for his efforts.

In addition to his bank account benefiting from the latest result, Fox, who shot 65 on the Old Course and was tied for second with Matthew Southgate (66 at St. Andrews) and Marcus Armitage (66 at Carnoustie), cemented his place at the top Race to the Dubai Rankings.

Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick posed for photos with his mother as they crossed the Swilcan Bridge, then made a 10-foot birdie on the 18th hole at St. Andrews.

Talk about the perfect way to close out a first European tour title in two years.

Fitzpatrick shot a 6-under 66 on the Old Course to win the weather-dependent Dunhill Links Championship by three strokes.

The 2022 U.S. Open champion posted a 19-under-par total in the tournament, which was reduced to 54 holes after heavy rain interrupted play on Saturday and Sunday.

Play was only possible after extraordinary efforts by greenkeepers on three storied Scottish courses hosting a professional event – St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns – to enable them to play. Large areas of Carnoustie in particular were unrecognizable on Sunday, with some fairways still having huge stretches of water.

Fitzpatrick, who won the RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour in April, has not won on the European Tour since the Andalucia Masters in October 2021.

This latest title came a week after he was part of the European team that won the Ryder Cup in Rome, where he earned his first point in golf’s biggest competition after five straight defeats on the road in 2016 and 2021.

He played with his mother Susan in the professional competition at Dunhill Links and they also won.

“It’s really funny. It was a chill week – I had fun with my mom and just tried to enjoy it as best I could and see what happened,” Fitzpatrick said.

The 29-year-old Englishman shot 67 on Thursday at Carnoustie and 64 on Friday at Kingsbarns.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better week,” Fitzpatrick said. “Apart from the weather, it really was a perfect week.

“Even with all my victories, apart from the major, in the future you forget about them and you will always remember the one you won with your mother.”

A total of 39 players withdrew or retired before the third and final round.

After Fitzpatrick finished his round, only No. 381-ranked Armitage could realistically challenge the lead, and he made three birdies over a four-hole stretch to close out the field to two shots three holes ahead of Carnoustie.

However, Armitage finished on par-bogey-par and tied for second again.

Sebastian Soderberg of Sweden made 10 birdies for a bogey-free 62 at Kingsbarns to finish alone in fifth place at 15-under.