Photo Courtesy: Keith Allison
By Jay Betsill
A few short days after falling one shot short of a playoff at The Open Championship at St. Andrews, Jason Day birdied the final three holes to win the Canadian Golf National Championship, better known as the RBC Canadian Open.
“I’ve never felt so much at home, and I’m not even from Canada,” said Day, who made a 20-foot putt on the par-5 18th for a 4-under 68 and a one-stroke victory over Bubba Watson. “I’m looking forward to coming back and defending the title here next year because I know that when I get here next year it’s going to be the same. It’s great to feel like a Canadian for a week.”
Day topped Canadian David Hearn by two shots. Hearn began the day two strokes ahead of Day and Watson and was bidding to become the first Canadian winner of the event in 61 years.
“I’m real proud of the way I played and I’m really proud to be Canadian today,” Hearn said. “It was a pretty special day with all of the fans and the support that I had.”
The win was Day’s fourth PGA Tour win. He also took home the title earlier this season at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
Notables included Jim Furyk (T4, -14), Matt Kuchar (T7, -12), Brooks Koepka (T18, -10) and Steve Stricker (T63, -3). Davis Love III, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh were among those to miss the cut.
The next stop on the PGA Tour is the Quicken Loans National. Notables in the field at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, VA include Rickie Fowler, Retief Goosen, Danny Lee, defending champion Justin Rose and tournament host Tiger Woods.
NOTES
–Marco Dawson claimed the Senior Open Championship title, besting Champions Tour stalwarts Berhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie. After over 400 starts on the PGA Tour without a win, this was Dawson’s second title on the senior tour this year.
“This is unbelievable,” said Dawson. “I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve put in on the range. I’ve had two back surgeries to prove it and I know it has come later than most of the guys, but it came true.”
— Robert Allenby and his caddie Mick Middlemo made a scene at the Canadian Open after a disagreement on club selection. Read about it at golfchannel.com.
