Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
The Englishman finished in second at the RBC Canadian Open; the fifth time he has finished runner-up at a PGA Tour event in his career.
The 2023 Canadian Open was a tournament for the ages.
Nick Taylor drained a 72-foot eagle putt on the fourth playoff hole to defeat Tommy Fleetwood of England.
In doing so, Taylor gave Canada its first Canadian champion since 1954.
On the flip side, Fleetwood showed tremendous class and admiration for Taylor in the loss.
“Nice moment for Nick [Taylor] and the fans here,” Fleetwood said after the round. “It’s great to be a part of that [on] Sunday and [to be in] that playoff. I had my chances, really. It wasn’t to be this time. But, yeah, congratulations to him.”
Fleetwood has never won a PGA Tour event but has six victories on the DP World Tour.
The four playoff holes between Taylor and Fleetwood created a Ryder Cup-like atmosphere: Canada pitted against England, a match rarely occurring in sport, let alone in golf.
Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Tyrell Hatton stayed around to support Fleetwood—their fellow countryman, while Mike Weir, Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin, and everyone else on the Oakdale Golf & Country Club property rooted on their fellow Canadian.
When Taylor’s putt dropped, it seemed as if all of Canada won the golf tournament, as the Toronto crowd erupted into a frenzy.
And withstanding it all was Fleetwood, who came up just short yet again. He then took to Twitter and showed a level of class.
Thank you Canada for an amazing atmosphere. Congrats @ntaylorgolf59, what an unbelievable 3 days of golf you’ve just played and what a moment for you and your country! We’ll start again tomorrow. See you at work.
— Tommy Fleetwood (@TommyFleetwood1) June 12, 2023
Since 2015, Fleetwood has finished in the top-five 20 times on the PGA Tour, the most of any player who has not recorded a victory during that span, per Golf Digest.
Fleetwood currently ranks as the 21st player in the world, according to the Official World Golf Ranking. He has been in the top ten before, as high as ninth in 2019.
He also has recorded four top-five finishes in major championships since 2017.
“I just have to keep practicing, keep playing,” Fleetwood added after his round. “I was really pleased with how I played over the weekend. I played great today, despite missing some chances on those playoff holes. It was close. I just have to take the positives from it and start practicing tomorrow. I got a major next week. So can’t dwell on it too much.”
Indeed, the U.S. Open will take place at the Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course this week.
Fleetwood finished fourth at the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills and then second to Brooks Koepka at Shinnecock Hills in 2018. Fleetwood fired a final-round 63 in brutally harsh U.S. Open conditions at Shinnecock, finishing one stroke behind Koepka.
Perhaps Fleetwood puts the Canadian Open behind him and wins in Southern California, giving England back-to-back U.S. Open champions for the first time ever.
