Canadian Open fans serenade Johnson to title

Dustin OAKVILLE, ONTARIO — Johnson is used to cheers and chants of “Let’s go D J!” But getting serenaded with “O Canada”?

“I did hear it a couple of times, them singing ‘O Canada’,” said Johnson, laughing Sunday after winning the RBC Canadian Open. “With the amount of support I get when I come up here, it’s been great . ... I definitely feel like an honorary Canadian.”

Johnson has a famous tie to southern Ontario, with fiancee Paulina’s father, hockey great Wayne Gretzky, from Brantford. Some fans wore Edmonton Oilers jerseys, and shouts of “Wayne!” “99!” and “Paulina!” could be heard.

“It was great all week. I had a lot of support out there, a lot of fans following me,” Johnson said. “With my ties to Canada with Paulina and then her dad being Wayne Gretzky, it definitely helps. I get a lot of fans that pull for Wayne, they pull for me.”

The top-ranked Johnson, who has an endorsement deal with title sponsor RBC, gave them plenty to cheer about, pulling away for his third victory of the season and 19th on the PGA Tour. Tied for the third-round lead with Kevin Tway, Byeong Hun An and Whee Kim, Johnson shot a 6-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Kim and An. Johnson finished at 23-under 265, winning at Glen Abbey after finishing second in 2013 and 2016 — and a week after missing the cut in the British Open.

“Even after the missed cut last week, I felt like I was hitting it fine,” Johnson said. “I just did not score very well at Carnoustie at all. I didn’t putt good. I just scored really badly. But I felt like I hit the ball plenty good enough to be under par after two days, and I was 5 over or something. It was just bad scoring.”

It fell into place at Glen Abbey, the Jack Nicklaus-designed course slated for redevelopment.

Kim and An each shot 69 in the round interrupted by a nearly 2-hour lightning delay. Keegan Bradley had a 64 to finish fourth at 19 under.