The 2023 RBC Canadian Open playoff could go down as one of the most electrifying playoffs in history, and when Nick Taylor hit that 72′ 6″ putt for the win, it provided a sense of Canadian pride like we have not had since the 2010 Olympics when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal or when Paul Henderson scored the final goal to help Canada beat the Soviet Union to capture the 1972 Summit Series.
Canadians waited 69 years for this moment. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., won the 2023 RBC Canadian Open at Toronto’s Oakdale Golf and Country Club, becoming the first Canadian man to win at home since Pat Fletcher in 1954.
Pat’s son Ted Fletcher said “Our family couldn’t be prouder of Nick Taylor’s Canadian Open victory. He overcame an extraordinary amount of pressure and to see him come through in such a magical way was truly unforgettable. The thrill of winning the Canadian Open was the highlight of my father’s career and we are so happy that Nick Taylor broke through and could experience the same exhilaration that my father experienced 69 years ago.”
Nick Taylor said “To kind of break that curse, if [that’s] you want to call — I’m pretty speechless. I don’t think it’s going to sink in for quite some time what happened today.” “I’m speechless. This is for all the guys that are here. This is for my family at home,” Taylor said with tears in his eyes. “This is the most incredible feeling.”
The 2023 RBC Canadian Open provided arguably the most thrilling finish of the year in professional golf. In what should be a surprise to absolutely nobody, fellow Canadian golfers Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners and former Masters champ Mike Weir, their caddies plus a slightly lubed-up and raucous Canadian crowd went completely bonkers as Taylor’s historic putt dropped.
In the race to celebrate with his childhood friend, Adam Hadwin raced on the green with a bottle of champagne in a dead sprint towards Taylor. Unfortunately, he was met just before he got there with an open-field tackle by a security guard who meant business.
Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Svensson, Taylor Pendrith and Michael Gligic represent the new generation of Canadian golfers who were inspired by Mike Weir’s 2003 Masters victory. Taylor said “”That was right when I was dropping pretty much every other sport and focusing on golf,”
“To have Mike win that tournament I think really made everyone believe that we could do it coming from a country like we do, where golf isn’t ideal for — it wasn’t quite half the year where I grew up, but three, four months you’re not really touching a club. It’s inspirational.”
This week the U.S. Open and the third major of the year begins on Thursday at the Los Angeles Country Club. Nick Taylor and six other Canadians are in the field and Canadian golfers will be on the edge of their seats hoping for another victory.
Oakdale Golf and Country Club also Wins!
Oakdale Golf and Country Club located just north west of Toronto became the 37th golf course in the event’s history and just the seventh different course to host the Canadian Open since 1977. The 2026 tournament will also serve as the clubs 100th anniversary.
The golf course underwent a restoration in 2018, with 27 holes- 18 designed by Stanley Thompson and nine by Robbie Robinson. The tournament played as a composite course at approximately 7,460 yards.
In addition to being the host of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, the members of the Oakdale Golf and Country Club had a goal to make an impact beyond the championship. The club opened its gates to children and non-golfing families in the community. By the end of this year, Oakdale will have introduced nearly 150 local youth to golf through First Tee – Ontario, at no cost to the participants, due to the generosity of the club’s membership.
PGA Tour-LIV drama.
For the second year in a row the RBC Canadian Open was once again ‘overshadowed’ by PGA Tour-LIV drama. Seemingly out of nowhere, the PGA Tour and its supposed rival, the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League, announced a merger. Details about what that means for the future of men’s golf, almost a year after the sport seemed to fracture, were sparse.
Among the few certainties is that the RBC Canadian Open was obscured by the spat, one year after it went head-to-head with LIV’s inaugural event in London and seemingly won as Rory McIlroy was crowned champion for the second consecutive time. The 2022 RBC Canadian Open at St. George’s Golf and Country Club returned from a Covid absence and delivered a rousing rebuttal.
“Three of the best players in the world going at it down the stretch, trying to win in front of those crowds and that atmosphere … it doesn’t get much better than that,” McIlroy said, and anyone could read between the lines.
And the Tour delivered a reminder of why it’s still the top show in golf.
This year at Oakdale, Nick Taylor stepped up to the tee and delivered for Canada.
Congratulations Nick.
