Rory McIlroy out-dueled Justin Thomas and Tony Finau in the final group pairing to win the RBC Canadian Open at St. George’s Golf & Country Club in Ontario on Sunday, explaining that it was “extra motivational” because of the LIV Golf Invitational.
“You know what’s going on across the across the pond. The guy that’s spearheading that tour [Greg Norman] has 20 wins in the PGA tour, and I was tied with them and I wanted to get one ahead of him,” said McIlroy, a native of Northern Ireland. “And I did. So that was really cool for me just a little sense of pride on that one.”
It was McIlroy’s first title defense of his victory in 2019 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club, since Canadian pandemic restrictions prohibited the last two years of play at the fourth-oldest national open.
The Canadian crowd swelled with energy as thousands cheered the exciting finish.
“The fans here this week have just been absolutely unbelievable. So good and so cool to play in an atmosphere like that, boisterous loud, but respectful. It was it was really, really cool,” said former WAGR No. 1 McIlroy.
The tournament was decided on the final few holes as McIlroy scored the lowest final round on tour with a 62, 8-under to finish with –19 total for the tournament, fending off Finau’s –17 and Thomas’ –15.
“I feel like it’s getting tougher and tougher to win on the PGA Tour,” added the 33-year-old McIlroy. “Just look at the two guys that I played with today. I went out with a lead and had to shoot 8-under par to get the job done. So the depth of talent on this tour is really, really impressive. And going up against guys like J.T. and Tony and coming out on top, that’s something to feel really good about.”
McIlroy bogeyed the par-three 16th, dropping him to a tie with Thomas; the battle was decided as Thomas succumbed, making bogeys on the final two holes.
“It was really cool to be a part of and I’m just really happy to get the win today. And it obviously sets me up well going into next week in Boston,” added McIlroy going into the U.S. Open, “But right now I just want to enjoy this and focus on this.”
McIlroy and Thomas faced difficult shots out of the tall rough after their tee shots on #17. McIlroy’s superb wedge shot resulted in a short putt for birdie, while Thomas was unable to match it, missing the green 20 yards to the left, and failing to save par on a 10-foot putt.
Nonetheless, Thomas was outstanding in the final round with a 64, making five birdies on the front nine and three birdies on the back to finish at –15 in third.
Finau also shot 64 in the final round, to finish second with –17, as he made a 39' 9” birdie putt on the 18th and final hole.
“Rory played great,” Finau said. “He closed it out and hat’s off to him on a week like this. That’s fantastic playing on the weekend. I played great, he just played a couple shots better.”
Justin Rose finished tied for fourth with Sam Burns at –14 with a score of 60, matching Carl Pettersson’s 2010 win on the course.
The sixth place finisher was top Canadian Corey Conners top Canadian, with a score of 62 finishing at –12.
“Felt like the last few days I played really solidly,“ said Conners. ”Just last few weeks even, just hadn’t maximized the game, hadn’t got as much out of the game as I wanted. Definitely, nice to have low round today. Played really well. Definitely, felt it coming.”
