Golf Canada once again demonstrated just how significant Nick Taylor’s win at June’s RBC Canadian Open truly was. The organization altered the logo for the event to highlight Taylor, who made a 72-foot putt on the fourth playoff hole to become the first Canadian to win the event since Pat Fletcher in 1954.
Clearly Taylor’s win was the most significant event in Canadian golf this year—but it wasn’t the only one that generated excitement. There was the tackle that occurred after his win. And four victories on PGA Tour Champions by Stephen Ames, alongside wins by Brooke Henderson, Corey Conners, and others.
Key Canuck Moments In 2023
Winning On The PGA Tour
The PGA Tour season started in 2022, and Canadian pros made an immediate splash, with victories by Mackenzie Hughes and Adam Svensson. Taylor’s win dominated 2023, but Listowel, Ont.’s Corey Conners also returned to the winner’s circle with his second win. In all, Conners had a fine year, playing to the Tour Championship in the FedExCup and remains the highest-ranked Canadian male golfer.
Taylor’s Incredible Canadian Open
Lost in Nick Taylor’s remarkable Canadian Open win is the fact he played miserably in the first round, shooting 75. Few thought he had any chance to play his way back into the tournament despite shooting 67 in round two, leaving him 2-under heading into the weekend. He shot 15-under on the weekend, which included the remarkable putt for eagle and the win over Tommy Fleetwood. It is worth noting that Taylor’s putting improved dramatically under the direction of Gareth Raflewski, the Irish-Canadian coach he started working with only months before his victory.
Hadwin’s Hit
What happens when you chirp @jessicahadwin on Twitter…
(Sorry @ahadwingolf) pic.twitter.com/1Vs6YqM70Q
— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) June 12, 2023
Though his Canadian Open ended a few hours earlier, Abbotsford, BC’s Adam Hadwin stayed around to watch his friend, Nick Taylor, try to break the curse of Pat Fletcher. When Taylor’s putt went in on the fourth playoff hole, Hadwin, dressed casually with a champagne bottle in hand, ran out on the 18th green at Oakdale Golf and Country Club to congratulate his friend. Instead, he was levelled by a security guard who mistook the PGA Tour winner for a spectator rushing the party. Video of the tackle went viral, though Hadwin was apologetic for generating such attention: “I think it was just one of those freak incidents,” he said afterwards. “I kind of came around the corner just as hot as he did, and I’m sure in the moment the entire security team was told not to lose control on the situation because if Nick wins it could get crazy, and I was a plain-clothed, hoodie- and jeans-wearing guy coming in hot.”
Brooke Battles
Golf Town Ambassador Brooke Henderson came out of the gates hot this year, winning in January at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. It was her only win of the year, and 13th overall for the 26-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont. She finished 14th on the money list for the year and 12th in the Women’s World Golf Rankings.
PGA Tour Bound
Ben Silverman, the Toronto native who has battled to stay on the PGA Tour, started the year with conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour. That’s essentially no-man’s land, where pros struggle through Monday qualifying hoping to find some magic and a spot in that week’s tournament. Silverman did one better—he qualified into The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic only to win that week. He’d ride that victory all the way back to a spot on the PGA Tour in the 2023-24 season. Similarly, Roger Sloan, a B.C. native, won in Utah on the Korn Ferry Tour, securing himself a return to the PGA Tour.
Stephen Ames’ Breakthrough
Is Stephen Ames getting better with age? Now 59, the Vancouver resident had an outstanding year on the Champions Tour. Ames, who had four wins on the PGA Tour, hadn’t turned many heads in the years since he turned 50 and started on the Champions Tour, with only two wins. Long known as one of the best ball strikers in the game, Ames won for the third time on the Champions Tour in February, and then added wins in May, June and August, narrowly missing winning the Charles Schwab Cup when he finished in a tie for second in the last tournament of the year.