Nick Taylor tossed his putter into the air and jumped into the arms of caddie Dave Markle after he made a 72-foot eagle putt to become the first Canadian in 69 years to win his national open, and he doesn’t remember any of it.
“I blacked out when that ball went in with Dave. So I’m curious to watch that, what we did,” Taylor said.
Few who witnessed it will ever forget.
Taylor delivered a signature moment in Canadian sports when his uphill, left-to-right-breaking putt — the longest made putt of his PGA Tour career — hit the flagstick and dropped on the fourth hole of a playoff against Tommy Fleetwood for the RBC Canadian Open title.
“It’s a tournament that we’ve circled on our calendar since probably junior golf,” Taylor said. “To kind of break that curse, if you want to call it, is — I’m pretty speechless. I don’t think it’s going to sink in for quite some time what happened today.”
Fellow Canadian players Mike Weir, Corey Conners and Adam Hadwin were among those who ran onto the green to congratulate him. Hadwin, Taylor’s close friend, was tackled by a security guardwhile spraying champagne from a bottle.
The last player from Canada to win the Canadian Open was Pat Fletcher in 1954 at Point Grey in Vancouver. Fletcher was born in England; Carl Keffer had been the only Canadian-born champion, winning in 1909 and 1914. Weir lost a playoff to Vijay Singh in 2004.
“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.
With galleries cheering his every move and even serenading him with “O Canada” on one tee box, Taylor curled in an 11-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to finish at 17-under 271 at Oakdale, walking backwards with his fist raised as the ball dropped into the cup. He shot a 6-under 66 on Sunday.
“It was the most incredible atmosphere I’ve ever been a part of and it’s not even close. I think even walking the first tee today, walking to the first green, there’s ovations on every single tee and green,” Taylor said. “When Tommy would miss and they would cheer, I kind of felt bad for him. But I knew just how pumped they were and they were trying to put every ounce of energy into it to help me pull it through.”
Fleetwood needed a birdie on the reachable par 5 to win in regulation, but he missed his tee shot right, laid up into an awkward lie in the right rough and two-putted for par to force the playoff in rainy conditions.
The players traded birdies on their first time playing No. 18 in the playoff. They both parred 18 and the par-3 ninth before heading back to 18.
Taylor’s tee shot found a divot in the fairway, but he hit his second shot 221 yards to the front of the green, while Fleetwood laid up after his drive found a fairway bunker. Fleetwood hit his third shot to 12 feet, but didn’t need to putt after Taylor’s eagle putt hit the flagstick and dropped.
Taylor expected Fleetwood to make his putt and focused on getting his lengthy try to the hole.
“The speed is all I was thinking about,” Taylor said. “For that to drop is — it was a huge surprise but an amazing one.”
Fans swarmed toward the green, and Hadwin — who like Taylor grew up in Abbotsford, British Columbia — got leveled amid the chaos. He said had so much adrenaline that the tackle didn’t faze him.
“It’s incredible. I mean, what do you say to one of the greatest moments of Canadian golf history?” Hadwin said. “I think we all predicted that this was going to happen.
“I’m not sure that any one of us predicted a 72-foot eagle putt ... to get it done, but what a way to go.”
The 35-year-old Taylor, who was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, won for the third time on the PGA Tour. He shot 75 in Thursday’s opening round but rallied with a 67 on Friday to make the cut, then shot 63 on Saturday to begin the final round three shots behind leader C.T. Pan.
“I was on the 7th hole, I remember, the first day, my 16th hole, with 10 feet for par. And made that. And birdied 8 and parred the last to kind of like somewhat be in the cut sight,” Taylor said. “So to be standing there and then sitting here today is pretty remarkable, to be honest.”
Taylor is the fourth Canadian to win on tour this season, joining Conners, Mackenzie Hughes and Adam Svensson.
Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy, two shots back of Pan entering the final round, closed with a 72 and finished in a tie for ninth, five shots back.
Fleetwood, a two-time Ryder Cup player from England and a six-time winner on the European tour, remains winless on the PGA Tour.
“I played great today, even though I missed some chances, if you like, on those playoff holes,” Fleetwood said. “Yeah, it was close. I just have to take the positives from it and start practicing tomorrow. I got a major next week. So can’t dwell on it too much.”
