Jason Day of Australia, bouncing back from a big disappointment six days earlier, holed a 22-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to beat Bubba Watson by one stroke and win the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario.
Day, who left a similar putt short on his last hole on Monday to finish one shot out of the playoff in which Zach Johnson beat Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman in the 144th Open Championship at St. Andrews, birdied the last three holes this time to close with a 4-under-par 68.
And he didn’t leave his putt on the 18th hole short.
“The first thing I told myself when I got to the green and saw it was a similar putt was to get this one to the hole,” said Day, who won for the fourth time on the PGA Tour and the second this season, having captured the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in February. “To make that one was so nice.
“There’s nothing better than that, to go head-to-head like that down the stretch. I played well all day and all week. It feels to good right now and I’m trying to soak it all in. That’s the fourth win of my career and hopefully there are many more.”
Watson recovered from a slow start with birdies on five of the last six holes, but needed an eagle on the par-5 on final hole to tie Day and force a playoff. However, he hit his approach shot barely over the green and couldn’t hole his 21-foot chip to settle for a birdie and a 69.
David Hearn, a native of Ontario trying to become the first player from Canada to win the Canadian Open in 61 years, couldn’t hold a two-stroke lead entering the final round and wound up two shots back in third after a 72.
“It’s obviously disappointing,” said Hearn, who has won twice as a pro, but not on the PGA Tour. “I got off to a good start (with birdies on the first two holes), but I struggled in the middle of the round.
“I can’t say enough how great the fans were, today and all week. I’m proud of the way I played, but any Canadian can tell you being in this position is not an easy task. I couldn’t quite pull it out, but I will be back to try again.”
Jim Furyk, a two-time Canadian Open champion, was three shots back in solo fourth after a 69, while Stewart Cink closed with a bogey-free 66 and finished another stroke behind in a tie for fifth with Tom Hoge, who birdied five of the last six holes and also shot 66.
Charley Hoffman of Poway and UNLV made two late birdies to shoot 70 and was five shots back in a tie for seventh with Matt Kuchar, who totaled 69, Austin Cook, who also had a 69, and Adam Hadwin of Canada, who came in at 68.
