Nick Taylor threw his putter into the air and leaped into the arms of caddy Dave Markle after making a 72-foot eagle putt to become the first Canadian to win his national open in 69 years, yet he doesn’t remember any of it.
“I blacked out when that ball went in with Dave,” Taylor said. “So I’m interested to see what we did.”
Few will ever forget what they saw.
Taylor created a landmark moment in Canadian sports when his uphill, left-to-right-breaking putt touched the flagstick and fell on the fourth hole of a playoff against Tommy Fleetwood for the RBC Canadian Open championship.
“It’s a tournament that we’ve had circled on our calendar probably since junior golf,” Taylor said. “To sort of break that curse, if you will, is — I’m pretty speechless.” “I don’t think what happened today will sink in for a long time.”
Mike Weir, Corey Conners, and Adam Hadwin were among the Canadians who raced onto the green to congratulate him. Taylor’s companion Hadwin was attacked by a security officer while spraying champagne from a bottle.
Pat Fletcher, who won the Canadian Open in 1954 at Point Grey in Vancouver, was the last Canadian to do so. Fletcher was born in England; the sole Canadian-born champion was Karl Keffer, who won in 1909 and 1914. In 2004, Weir was defeated in a playoff by Vijay Singh.
“I’ve looked up to Mike Weir and watched him play golf for so long, and for him to be there was special,” Taylor said.
Taylor curled in an 11-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to finish at 17-under 271 at Oakdale, walking backward with his fist raised as the ball sank into the cup, with audiences adoring his every step and even serenading him with “O Canada” on one tee box. On Sunday, he shot a 6-under 66.
“It was without a doubt the most incredible atmosphere I’ve ever been a part of.” “I think even walking from the first tee to the first green today, there’s ovations on every single tee and green,” Taylor said. “I felt awful for Tommy when he missed and everyone cheered. But I knew how amped they were, and they were putting all they had into it to help me pull it off.”
To win in regulation, Fleetwood required a birdie on the reachable par 5, but he missed his tee shot right, lay up into a tricky position in the right rough, and two-putted for par to force the playoff in wet circumstances.
The golfers swapped birdies on their first playoff appearance at No. 18. Before returning to 18, they both parred 18 and the par-3 ninth.
Taylor’s tee ball struck a rut in the fairway, but he hammered his second shot 221 yards to the front of the green, while Fleetwood lay up after hitting a fairway bunker with his drive. After Taylor’s eagle putt struck the flagstick and sank, Fleetwood nailed his third shot to 12 feet and didn’t need to putt.
Taylor anticipated Fleetwood’s putt and concentrated on getting his long attempt to the hole.
“All I could think about was the speed,” Taylor said. “For that to drop was — it was a huge surprise, but an amazing one.”
Fans rushed to the green, and Hadwin, who grew up in Abbotsford, British Columbia, was knocked down in the midst of the commotion. He stated he was so high on adrenaline that the tackle didn’t bother him.
“It’s unbelievable. What do you say about one of the most memorable events in Canadian golf history?” Hadwin said. “I believe we all predicted this would happen. “I don’t think any of us expected a 72-foot eagle putt to get it done, but what a way to depart.”
Taylor, who was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, won for the third time on the PGA Tour. He shot 75 in the first round on Thursday, but recovered with a 67 on Friday to make the cut, then fired 63 on Saturday to start the final round three strokes behind leader C.T. Pan.
“I remember being on the seventh hole on the first day, my 16th hole, with 10 feet for par.” And did that. “I birdied 8 and parred the last to sort of be in the cut sight,” Taylor said. “So to be standing there and then sitting here today is pretty remarkable, to be honest.”
Taylor joins Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, and Adam Svensson as the fourth Canadian to win on tour this season.
Two-time reigning winner Rory McIlroy, who was two strokes behind Pan going into the final round, closed with a 72 and ended in a tie for ninth place, five shots down.
Fleetwood, a two-time Ryder Cup player from England and a six-time European Tour champion, has yet to win on the PGA Tour.
“I played great today,” Fleetwood said, “even though I missed some chances, if you will, on those playoff holes.” “Yeah, that was really close. All I have to do now is take the positives and begin practising tomorrow. I’ll have a major next week. So I can’t think about it too much.”
Tyrrell Hatton (64), Aaron Rai (69), and Pan (70) all missed the playoffs by one stroke.
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