Tommy Fleetwood Denied His First PGA Tour Win By Nick Taylor’s 72-Foot Play-Off Putt
Tommy Fleetwood was denied his first PGA Tour win after Nick Taylor made a 72-foot putt on the fourth play-off hole to seal the Canadian Open.
Taylor, 35, becomes the first Canadian to win the event at Oakdale Golf and Country Club since Pat Fletcher in 1954.
“I don’t think it’s going to sink in for quite some time what happened today,” said Taylor.
English duo Tyrrell Hatton and Aaron Rai shared third place on 16 under.
Fans celebrated wildly in rainy conditions in Toronto as Taylor’s eagle putt dropped in to hand the home-grown player his third tour victory.
“This is for all the guys through the years, this is for my family at home,” he said. “To kind of break that curse, if you want to call it is, I’m pretty speechless.
“With the rain coming down, the slope, obviously, we knew it was going to be slow. To get it there was, obviously, a bit of a surprise honestly.
“For that to drop is – it was a huge surprise but an amazing one.”
Taylor overturned a three-stroke deficit on the final day to post a six-under 66 and set a clubhouse target of 72, which was matched by Englishman Fleetwood.
Fleetwood, 32, matched Taylor’s birdie on the first play-off hole, with both players making pars on the following two extra holes to extend the contest.
Taylor then claimed a thrilling victory with his dramatic putt at the par-five 18th hole as Fleetwood watched on.
“Nice moment for Nick and the fans here,” said Fleetwood, who has finished runner-up in five PGA Tour events.
“So it’s great to be a part of that Sunday and that play-off. I had my chances, really. It wasn’t to be this time. But, yeah, congratulations to him.”
Rory McIlroy’s bid for a third consecutive Canadian Open faded after a final round of 72 left the Northern Irishman joint ninth, while England’s Justin Rose ended the tournament on 13 under to finish eighth.
