2009 Recap
Nathan Green Wins 100th Playing of the RBC Canadian Open
07/27/2009
Courtesy of Chris Johnston, THE CANADIAN PRESS
OAKVILLE, Ont. - It only stands to reason that this
RBC Canadian Open would produce a champion from Toronto who honed his
game on the Canadian Tour. And isn't actually Canadian.
Nathan Green is as Australian as they come and won golf's third-oldest
championship Monday by outlasting Retief Goosen in a two-hole playoff _
yet another surprise from a tournament that was full of them.
It was the first PGA Tour win for the 34-year-old, who entered the week
27 worldwide victories behind Goosen and 269 places back in the world
rankings.
``This is pretty much the last thing I was expecting to do,'' said Green.
Anyone who was at Glen Abbey for this event should really have been
expecting the unexpected. There were eight holes-in-one in total _
three more than any other PGA Tour event since 1971 _ and a record nine
straight birdies from Mark Calcavecchia on Saturday morning; there was
an endless slew of rain delays and the first Monday finish at this
tournament since 1988.
And in the end, there was another unlikely winner following Chez Reavie's victory at this event last July.
Green is a resident of Toronto, Australia _ a small town named in
honour of a Canadian rower that once visited the area _ and spent three
years playing the Canadian Tour. One of his three previous professional
victories came at a tour stop in Sudbury, Ont., in 2000.
He was telling people all week how much he enjoys visiting Canada.
``It was a huge surprise to finally win,'' said Green. ``This is where
I started my pro career. I love coming up here. The people are great.''
Rain battered the course for four days before giving way to sunshine on
Monday morning, allowing golfers to complete what was left of their
third round as well as all of the fourth round.
Green finished off a 69 in the morning before posting a bogey-free 68
in the afternoon _ playing 28 holes in total. An eagle at the 72nd hole
gave Goosen a fourth-round 69 that was good enough to get him in a
playoff at 18-under 270.
Anthony Kim (73) and Jason Dufner (73) finished four shots back while
Lee Janzen (67), Brandt Snedeker (68) and Jerry Kelly (71) were another
stroke off.
Chris Baryla of Vernon, B.C., shot a splendid final-round 66 to match
Calgary's Stephen Ames (67) as the low Canadian. They each tied for
eighth.
``Being (tied for) low Canadian is a huge achievement for me,
absolutely,'' said Baryla, a regular on the Nationwide Tour. ``It's the
difference between thinking that I have the ability and validation, and
it's nice to have that validation.''
Green got some validation of his own after spending three full seasons on the PGA Tour without registering a victory.
He earned US$918,000 from the $5.1-million event and jumped to 43rd on
the tour's money list. Even more importantly, he is now exempt on the
PGA Tour through 2011 and will be extended an invitation to next year's
Masters.
``It's just such a buzz for me to be able to turn the year around so
dramatically,'' said Green. ``That's more than I thought I could have
done.''
Goosen wasn't too upset after falling just short.
He's been enjoying something of a renaissance since turning 40 earlier
this year, registering a win at the PGA Tour's Transitions Championship
in March. He's now on a run of four straight top-10 finishes worldwide.
``I've been leading or within one or two shots of the lead in the last
four events and haven't been able to pull it off,'' said Goosen. ``I
need to just pray a little bit harder on Sundays _ or Monday.''
Green moved to the top of the leaderboard as Goosen and Kim _ two of
the top-ranked players in the field _ each made mistakes on the final
nine.
Even though Green didn't end up making a bogey over his final 21 holes,
he did fail to birdie the easy par-5 18th twice in the tournament's
last hour _ first, failing to win in regulation before ``dodging a
bullet'' on the opening playoff hole when Goosen missed a six-footer
for birdie that would have ended it.
``I had my chances to win, and unfortunately I hit a poor putt,'' said Goosen.
Green clinched the title on No. 17 after making a par and watching the
South African fail to get up-and-down from behind the green. He wore a
look of disbelief when Goosen's eight-foot putt to extend the playoff
missed wide.
Most of the golfers were thrilled to bid farewell to a course that many had visited on eight consecutive days.
``Eight (days)? Oh, I thought it was two weeks,'' said Ames. ``Sorry. Yeah, it is a relief to get it over with _ finally.''
Even an exhausted-looking Green could identify.
Fittingly, the rain started up again while he sat in the media tent
talking about his victory while clutching a yellow flag he's going to
keep as a souvenir from the win.
``It's just been a bizarre week, a long week,'' said Green. ``To get my
first win in Canada, where I spent a lot of years playing on the
Canadian Tour, is a great way to have a first one.''
NOTES:
• Stephen Ames of Calgary and Chris Baryla of Vernon, B.C. are
co-winners of the Rivermead Cup, presented each year to the top
Canadian at the RBC Canadian Open. Ames and Baryla finished the event
at 12-under par.
• Green and Goosen were the only two players in the field this week to record all four rounds in the 60’s.
CLICK HERE for the final scores from the 2009 RBC Canadian Open.
CANADIAN SCORES FROM THE FINAL ROUND OF THE 2009 RBC CANADIAN OPEN
The following are final Canadian scores for Monday, July 27, 2009.
(7,253 yards, Par 72)
Chris Baryla, Vernon, B.C. 69-71-70-66 (-12)
Stephen Ames, Calgary, Alta. 68-69-72-67 (-12)
Mike Weir, Bright’s Grove, Ont. 71-67-69-71 (-10)
Graham DeLaet, Weyburn, Sask. 73-66-72-71 (-6)
SUPPORTING CHILDREN’S CHARITIES
The 2009 RBC Canadian Open raised a record $1.1 million dollars for
children’s charities this week which sets a tournament record for most
ever philanthropic dollars raised. The championships two charity
partners, The Mike Weir Foundation, the national charity partner, and
the Reach Out Centre For Kids (ROCK) Halton, the local charity partner
- both support children’s wellness.
ABOUT THE 2009 RBC CANADIAN OPEN
An exciting new era has arrived for Canada's national championship.
Part of the FedEx Cup, stars of the PGA TOUR will compete for $5.1
million (US) at the RBC Canadian Open, July 20-26 at Glen Abbey Golf
Club in Oakville, Ontario. Established in 1904, the tournament is the
third-oldest national open golf championship worldwide next to the
British Open and the U.S. Open. The RBC Canadian Open is proudly
sponsored by RBC, Bell, Pengrowth and BMW Canada along with Corona
Extra, TaylorMade, Wolf Blass, Southern Implants, CFF Stainless Steels
Inc., The Globe and Mail, Pepsi, LG, Transitions Optical, The
Glenlivet, Reader’s Digest, Sunoco and local media partners Q107 and
Toronto Sun. The event is also supported by Ontario Tourism. Ontario,
yours to discover.
ABOUT THE ROYAL CANADIAN GOLF ASSOCIATION
The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) is the governing body of
golf in Canada, representing 377,000 members at 1,600 clubs across the
country. Recognized by Sport Canada as the National Sports Organization
(NSO) for golf in this country, the RCGA’s mission is to grow
participation in and passion for the sport while upholding the
integrity and traditions of the game. The RCGA conducts programs and
services to help shape the future of golf in Canada. High performance
athlete development, CN Future Links, Canada’s national junior golf
program, turfgrass and environmental research, the Canadian Golf Hall
of Fame and Museum, Rules of Golf and amateur status, handicapping and
course rating are only some of the initiatives the association leads
for golf in Canada. In addition, the RCGA conducts Canada’s most
prestigious golf championships. The RBC Canadian Open and CN Canadian
Women’s Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while
regional junior and national amateur championships showcase the best in
Canadian golf.
For further information on what the RCGA is doing to support golf in your community please visit
www.rcga.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Dan Pino
Director, Media and Public Relations
Royal Canadian Golf Association
t: 905-337-4755 or 416.434.5525 (cell)
e:
dpino@rcga.org
Terry Lenyk
Coordinator, Media and Public Relations
Royal Canadian Golf Association
t: 905-337-4755 or 416-407-3893 (cell)
e:
tlenyk@rcga.org