The RBC Canadian Open turned into Groundhog Day on Sunday, with New Zealand’s Ryan Fox and American Sam Burns struggling to close out a playoff over four holes. In the end, it was Burns, who shot 8-under 62 in the final round, who faltered, taking three putts on the fourth time through the 18th hole at TPC Toronto/Osprey Valley, and handing the tournament to Fox.
It was an improbable finish to a tournament that began with heavy rain, calm conditions, and soft greens, and ended under sunshine, with wind whipping the flag on the 18th hole.
“Life changing—especially such a big event,” said Fox. “It’ll take a few days to process.”
Fox, who won his first PGA Tour event earlier this year, entered the fourth round with the lead after shooting 6-under 64 in the third round and looked like he might come up short after having to lay up on TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley’s par-5 18th hole. Burns watched the drama unfold from the clubhouse, having posted an 8-under 62, and vaulting 15 spots up the leaderboard in the final round. But Burns’ round was finished almost two hours before Fox’s final putt in regulation found the bottom of the cup.
That’s when things got interesting—or repetitive, depending on your take. The 18th hole, playing slightly over 560 yards into the wind, was suddenly not reachable for either Fox or Burns. That left the pair playing it twice before the PGA Tour recut and moved the hole. That didn’t change anything in the third attempt, but on the fourth playoff hole Fox made a 259-yard approach into the new front hole placement, leaving nine feet for eagle. Burns, who also hit the green, but had nearly 50 feet, blew his eagle putt by the hole, and couldn’t make the 11-foot birdie. Fox easily two-putted to finally conclude the seemingly endless playoff.
Rory Falters
He’d won the RBC Canadian Open twice, but Rory McIlroy struggled through two rounds at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, missing the cut and heading south to prepare for the U.S. Open. McIlroy finished 9-over through two rounds to miss the cut, and his confidence isn’t high heading into the U.S. Open at Oakmont: “You don’t want to shoot high scores like the one I did today,” McIlroy said. “Obviously going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways. Still sort of searching for the sort of missing piece off the tee. Obviously for me, when I get that part of the game clicking, then everything falls into place for me. Right now, that isn’t. Yeah, that’s a concern going into next week.”
Contending Canucks
Six players made the cut at Osprey Valley, with Taylor Pendrith in contention after the first round, in which wet conditions allowed players to lift, clean and place shots on the fairway. Mackenzie Hughes’ 6-under 64 in the third round put him into a good spot heading into the final round, but he struggled in the final round, dropping 21 places to close at 10-under, tied with Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, and Taylor Pendrith. In the end, it was Nick Taylor, the winner in 2023, who was the low Canadian for the tournament, finishing 13th at 13-under.
Osprey’s debut
The tournament made its first appearance at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, a multi-course facility about an hour north of Toronto. Played at the parkland-style North Course as a par-70, which was significantly renovated by Brantford, Ont., architect Ian Andrew, the opening round was marred by overnight rains that made it soft, with players allowed to lift, clean, and place, making for low scores. Seven holes played over par for the tournament, and the course tipped out at nearly 7,400 yards, with several holes converted from par 5s for public play to par 4s for the event.