It’s Vegas, baby, at Canadian Open
Upstart Jared du Toit finishes three strokes back at Canadian Open
A year ago, Brantford’s David Hearn gave us heart palpitations by coming oh-soclose to winning the RBC Canadian Open title.
This time, it was little-known amateur Jared du Toit’s turn to capture the collective imagination of Canadians before falling agonizingly short at the Open.
Yes, rest easy Pat Fletcher, your legacy is safe for another year. A Canadian will need to wait 12 months to make another run at this tournament and try to end what is now 62 years of futility.
Du Toit, a 21-year-old Calgary native and senior-to-be at Arizona State University who was making his PGA Tour debut this week, gutted out a 1-under 71 Sunday at Glen Abbey to finish at 9-under for the tournament, three strokes behind winner Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela, who fired a final round 64 to finish at 12-under 276, one stroke better than Jon Rahm, Martin Laird and Dustin Johnson.
Expectations were, quite naturally, low for du Toit coming into the Open and he performed so much better than even he believed he could. He showed courage — he spent some time in a local hospital Saturday evening due to a bout of bronchitis but never used it as an excuse — playing on the biggest stage in Canadian golf, resilience and enormous skill in finishing in a four-way tie at 9-under 279, good for ninth with veterans Geoff Ogilvy, Ben Crane and Matt Kuchar, owners of a combined 20 PGA Tour wins.
He even played the final round in the last pairing with 2013 RBC Canadian Open champ Brandt Snedeker, who finished tied for fifth at 10-under 278, firing a final round 71.
Anticipating a historic moment that might be coming, fans surrounding the first tee roared when du Toit was introduced. The atmosphere was a bit like a rock concert for much of his final round, until it became apparent late in the afternoon that he wouldn’t win.
“Unbelievable. The atmosphere they were providing was unbelievable,” du Toit said. “Every tee box, every green, everyone was clapping, hollering ‘Go Canada.’ It was truly unbelievable. I’m on Cloud 9 right now.
“I was just so excited to be out there and in the final group in that atmosphere. I really wasn’t thinking too much about my score or anything. I probably could have shot 100 out here and they would have been behind me all day.”
And, still, when his eagle putt on 18, which would have moved him into a tie for fifth, slid just by the hole, all of Canada likely sagged a bit. You couldn’t help but pull for the kid.
But you know what? Du Toit never crumbled, never gave in to the immense pressure he surely felt. The collapse we all felt was coming, sometime, just never did.
With everything swirling around him — the Canadian flags waving, the fans looking to high-five the youngster who grew up in Kimberley, B.C., the shouts of encouragement from fans who wouldn’t have known him from Adam five days ago — he didn’t allow himself to get swallowed up by the moment. He appeared to savour it instead, revel in the unlikeliness of what he was doing.
“Honestly, I had no expectations coming into this week,” he said. “I thought maybe if I play well and make the cut, I honestly don’t know. To come out this week and play well, top 10, feels really good. To not have my best stuff and still shoot under par out there, in the final round of the Canadian Open, that feels pretty good.”
In the end, it wasn’t like du Toit lost the RBC Canadian Open. He just didn’t win it.
And there’s a huge difference between the two. Just ask Steve Wheatcroft, who had the win in his grasp before sculling a bunker shot into the pond on the 18th. As a result, he finished in a tie for fifth at 278 with Ricky Barnes, Alex Cejka and Snedeker.
It was a soul-crushing amateur mistake — one that the real amateur, du Toit, avoided here — with that all-important first career PGA Tour title awaiting.
Du Toit, a member of the national amateur team who only got into the Open thanks to a Golf Canada sponsor’s exemption, never really had that one big breakdown over four rounds. Sure, he had a few blips — the triple-bogey snowman he took in the second hole Friday comes to mind — along the way, but he never fell apart.
Somehow, he just didn’t. Even as the country held its breath, hoped against hope, that he could find a way to win.
As for the other Canadians who made the cut, Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. finished at 1-under 287 to tie for 49th while amateur Garrett Rake of Elmira, Ont., had a final round 76 to finish in a tie for 77th with 8-over 296. Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., finished 80th at with 300.