WiretoWire: Taylor and Canada win RBC

CANADA’S NICK TAYLOR WINS RBC CANADIAN OPEN WITH WALK-OFF PLAYOFF EAGLE

Nick Taylor will never forget this moment. Nor will his home country. The Canada native became the first Canadian since 1954 to win the RBC Canadian Open, draining a 72-foot eagle putt on the fourth playoff hole Sunday to edge Tommy Fleetwood in a raucous scene at Oakdale Golf & Country Club in Toronto. Both players completed regulation at 17 under; Taylor carded a closing 6-under 66; Fleetwood came in with 67, and the first three playoff holes were tied, hole 18 twice then heading to hole nine, before a return to the par-5 18th for the fourth extra hole that proved the decider. It was the longest putt of Taylor’s TOUR career, eliciting a ground-shaking stampede of friends and well-wishers. With tears (and perhaps champagne) in his eyes, Taylor thanked his fellow Canadians and his family. CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz described it as one of the greatest moments in Canadian sports history. “This is the most incredible feeling,” Taylor said. “Ever.” Canadians have risen to prominence in professional golf across the years, including Mike Weir’s victory at the 2003 Masters, but the nation’s record at the RBC Canadian Open has been defined by close calls, including Weir’s playoff loss to Vijay Singh in 2004. Weir was greenside Sunday evening as the winning putt dropped, one of several Canadian pros to offer real-time congratulations. It’s Taylor who brings a 69-year drought to a close in emphatic fashion, in turn cementing his legacy in Canadian golf lore.

CALIFORNIA DREAMING FOR U.S. OPEN

The third major championship of the season is heading to The Los Angeles Country Club, the first time LA has hosted the U.S. Open in 75 years. Matt Fitzpatrick will try to successfully defend his U.S. Open title, while Jon Rahm is looking to win his second major of the season after taking the Masters in April. Rahm has four victories already in 2023 and a runner-up at the Mexico Open at Vidanta. Rory McIlroy hasn’t won a major in almost a decade but he’s seemingly done everything else on the PGA TOUR since then. The reigning FedExCup champion missed the cut at the Masters but finished tied for seventh at the PGA Championship. Four of the top-10 ranked golfers in the world are all looking for their first major win. Patrick Cantlay (No. 4), Viktor Hovland (No. 5), and a pair of California kids in Xander Schauffele (No. 6) and Max Homa (No. 7) will look to add a first major trophy to their cabinets. Another Californian with some ties to the host venue is Collin Morikawa. Morikawa has finished in the top 10 in seven of his last 12 majors and was part of the winning U.S. squad (with Scottie Scheffler) at the 2017 Walker Cup at LACC.

PGA TOUR WILL EXPERIENCE ‘MEANINGFUL GROWTH’ FROM PARTNERSHIP WITH DP WORLD TOUR, PIF

The conversations about how to heal a divided golf world began nearly two months ago. They started with a meeting between PGA TOUR Policy Board member Jimmy Dunne and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. That initial meeting was the most important one, PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan said, because it set the foundation for Tuesday’s unexpected announcement of a partnership between the PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and PIF.

The fruit of those discussions is a development that eased tensions in the golf world while allowing the PGA TOUR to retain its position of strength. The framework agreement closes a contentious year between the TOUR and LIV Golf, bringing all pending litigation between the parties to a mutually-agreed end.

“This ultimately is a decision that I think is in the best interest of all of the members of the PGA TOUR, puts us in a position of control, and allows us to partner with the PIF in a constructive and productive way,” Commissioner Monahan said in a Tuesday evening press conference. “We just realized that we were better off together than we were fighting or apart.”

Where there was once rivalry, there is now unity, as the PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and PIF have in place a framework agreement to form a new, collectively owned, for-profit entity. While the PGA TOUR will retain its 501(c)(6) status, which will allow it to continue its investment into the communities where it plays, this new for-profit entity creates the opportunity for investment that will produce “meaningful growth” for the TOUR.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

MIC CHECK

“People don't just shoot 59. And I did, yeah. Feeling great, feel great. Never really had a chance to shoot 59; that was like my first real chance, so I'm 1-for-1.” — Michael Feagles after an opening-round 59 at the Korn Ferry Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am

BY THE NUMBERS

53 - Steve Strickersurpassed Tiger Woods’ record with 53 consecutive rounds at par or better and won the American Family Insurance Championship. His streak now stands at 55 rounds.

1 - In his first start as a professional since graduating from PGA TOUR University, Adrien Dumont de Chassart won a playoff to claim the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX.

5 - TOUR runner-up finishes for Tommy Fleetwood, whose latest close call came at the RBC Canadian Open, falling to Nick Taylor on the fourth playoff hole.

COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10

The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.