Day Tripper
Australian Jason Day birdied his last three holes to win the RBC Canadian Open by posting 17-under-par 271 to defeat Bubba Watson by one shot. Canada's best hope, 54-hole leader David Hearn rounded out the podium in third. The Aussie's winning putt from 21 feet clinched his second victory of the season (Farmers Insurance Open) and the fourth of his career.
Day began Sunday two shots behind hometown hero and 54-hole leader David Hearn but showed his class with three birdies in the first seven holes to tie the lead at 16-under. After bogeys and Nos. 8 and 9 dropped him back, he steadied the ship with six consecutive pars before his salvo of birdies to finish the job. His driver was squirrly on the back nine but he made two tough par putts, one from almost 13 feet and another six footer than saw him stay within touching distance. The final six holes have three par fives and Day took advantage with birdies on the final two, including that 21-footer down the hill. Watson birdied five of the last six holes but ended the day one shot out of a playoff as his 7-wood chip from off No. 18 green didn't fall.
After Chad Campbell blasted his way to 67-63 to lead after 36 holes on 14-under, there were rumblings that all of the scoring records at Glen Abbey would take rewriting this week. The weather was perfect the first two days and the cut landed at two-under. Saturday brought sustained winds with gusts approaching 25 mph at times and scores didn't get any lower than 66 and brought the field back together. A perfect Sunday saw 27 players post rounds in the 60s as the field separated.
Glen Abbey had some difficult driving holes but for the most part was target practice again this time around for the world's best. Even though 10 greens were a different grass that wasn't mentioned once this week as an issue. The weather wasn't an issue either!
Why This Performance Doesn’t Surprise:
Day led after 54 holes at both the U.S. Open and Open Championship so his form has hardly been in question. As veteran gamers will point out, when Day is healthy, he must be in the lineup. Now that he's figured out what has been causing his vertigo, it's obvious without he immediately jumps into any conversation when discussing the best players on TOUR. Veteran gamers will also point out that he rarely mails it and will grind because he frankly doesn't tee it up that much in relation to the average TOUR pro. Some of that is because of injuries or other health issues but when he's in the field, he's going to produce.
Why This Performance Surprises:
He's the only player to lead the those events after 54 holes and never win one so there's always that question if he can shut the door. That question was more prevalent this week for two reasons: One, he missed a four-hole playoff on MONDAY at The Open Championship so he was on a short, stressful week already. The other issue was his lingering health question as this would be the first time he played back-to-back weeks since collapsing at Chambers Bay. Dude proves again he's a stud.
This was his third time playing Glen Abbey. He was T48 after opening with 65 in 2008 and four rounds in the 70s in 2009 saw him post solo 52nd so his course form, smartly, was ignored.
How Day Won This Week:
Simply, he didn't lose it on Thursday and this is what gamers love about a healthy Day. He shows up and throws up a number, 68, and he's in it for Friday. He went two lower on Friday with 66 and was just four back entering the weekend. I could hear gamers cursing on Saturday when he was three-OVER through 11 and eight shots back of Hearn. He birdied six of the last seven holes to finish the day just two back with a chance to stalk on Sunday.
Day hits it a mile and can overpower most courses and this week wasn't any different. He was 73rd in accuracy and T36 in GIR but led the field in strokes gained: total and was 16th tee-to-green.
His putter (eighth in putting average, 41st in strokes-gained) made it through customs again this week as he was third in putts per GIR and fourth in strokes-gained.
He made 23 birdies on the week, good for T2. He's second on TOUR in birdie average.
Aussies are always lauded for their ability to play out of the sand. Day didn't disappoint as he was five from five from around the green and had some excellent iron shots from fairway bunkers that kept him in business.
Moving Forward:
The only questions on Day were his health and his stamina and they were both answered this week with perfect marks. The only course he doesn't play well is his hometown track Muirfield Village so it's open season on burning starts down the stretch. This is the Day we've been waiting for and now that he's cured what has ailed him the sky is the limit. This is his first multiple win season.
With This Win:
Day picks up his second victory of the year, 500 points and $1.044 million.
Déjà vu All Over Again?
After 28 wins in 45 events last season, the USA takes the week off as Aussie Day is back holding another trophy.
Brooks Koepka, Bill Haas, Jimmy Walker, Patrick Reed, Charley Hoffman, Bubba Watson twice, Ryan Moore, Robert Streb, Ben Martin, Brandt Snedeker, James Hahn (born in Korea; US citizen), Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Matt Every, Walker again, J.B. Holmes, Spieth again, Jim Furyk, Rickie Fowler, Chris Kirk, Spieth FOUR TIMES, Johnson and Piercy are the USA champs.
Alex Cejka (Germany), Paddy Harrington (Ireland), Sangmoon Bae (Korea), Nick Taylor (Canada), Jason Day TWICE (Australia), Justin Rose (England), McIlroy times two (Northern Ireland), Steven Bowditch (Australia), David Lingmerth (Sweden), Fabian Gomez (Argentina) and Danny Lee (South Korea) are the 11 international winners in 38 events. It’s quite the global game as the 11 winners represent Germany, Ireland, Korea (twice), Canada, Australia (twice), England, Northern Ireland (same guy twice), Sweden and Argentina.
Haas, Bae, Martin, Moore, Walker and Spieth have closed their 54-hole leads. Walker, Spieth and Kirk are the only persons on BOTH sides of this list; Walker couldn’t close out at HTOC but came back and won the following week at Sony. Spieth, who was 0-4 with the 54-hole lead in his career on TOUR, couldn’t hold out at SHO before winning the Masters. We know what's happened since. Kirk couldn’t close his 54-hole lead at THE PLAYERS but had no trouble coming off the pace at Colonial. Rose adds his name to this list as his three-shot lead evaporated at Memorial after coming from behind to win at Zurich. Hearn adds his name to the list as the Canadian played solidly but couldn't find his first win at his national open. Only 14 players in 37 events have closed the deal on Sunday. This was the 38th event but WGC-Match Play doesn't have a 54-hole leader.
After 13 first-time winners in 2013 there were only 10 last year. After 38 events in 2015 Gomez, Lingmerth, Martin, Streb, Taylor, Koepka, Hahn, Cejka and Lee have broken through.
Pat Fletcher, in 1954, remains the last Canadian to win. Hearn and Adam Hadwin (T7) made the maple leafers happy this week though.
The last player to defend their title was Jim Furyk in 2006-07; Tim Clark played the weekend two-over and finished T63.
Chad Campbell missed out on a piece of the course record, 62, as his 63 on Friday was one short.
Nathan Green's tournament record (since the rerouting in 2009) of 19-under still is the standard bearer.
Bob Charles is still the only left hander to win the RBC Canadian Open.
Young Guns Versus Prime Time Versus Old Guys
I annually keep track of the age of the winners on TOUR because I’m an ageist. GET OFF MY VIAGRA.
Bae got the youngsters (under 30) on the board first in 2014-15 followed by Martin and Streb, both 27. Nick Taylor, 26, popped in to close out 2014 at SFC. Reed joined the party at a whopping 24 at HTOC followed by Koepka, 25 in Phoenix and Jason Day, 27, at Torrey Pines and now RBC Canadian. Spieth, who turns 22 on 27 July, has won at Valspar, Augusta, Chambers Bay and now TPC Deere Valley. McIlroy, 26, Fowler, 26, and McIlroy won again at Quail Hollow. Lingmerth, the winner at Memorial, turns 28 in July. The youngsters have 16 victories in 38 events this year as Spieth remains the landlord.
Dustin Johnson (30), James Hahn (33), Brandt Snedeker (34),Bill Haas (32), Jimmy Walker TWICE (36), Charley Hoffman (37), Bubba Watson (36) TWICE, Ryan Moore (31), Matt Every (31), J.B. Holmes (32),Justin Rose (34), Chris Kirk (30), Steven Bowditch (31), Fabian Gomez (36), Piercy, 36 and Johnson, 39, are the prime time guys with silverware (30-39 years).
The old guys (40-and-over) have Jim Furyk, Paddy Harrington and Alex Cejka as representatives in their smallish club in 2015. Jim Furyk was, not surprisingly, in contention again north of the border this week with solo fourth.
Hindsight
What I learned from the finishers in the top 10 this week.
Bubba Watson: His wife is from Ontario so that answers my question from earlier in the week on what his motivation was for playing this week. He played the par fives better than the par fours for the week and destroyed the homeward nine to the tune of 19-under. He made 16 birdies and three eagles on the back nine for the week. He also made 23 birdies including six in his final seven holes to secure solo second. He was T2 in GIR and seventh in putts per GIR. Put this down as a course that has his attention moving forward. I'm convinced the "why" is just as important as the what with Watson.
David Hearn: He lost a chunk of change when his birdie putt on No. 18 lipped out and he dropped to solo third. Too bad for Hearn that he had three studs breathing down his neck all day with Day, Watson and Furyk putting the pressure on the hometown favorite. Hearn had never gone lower than 69 in eight rounds at Glen Abbey but his bogey-free 64 on Friday and one bogey 68 on Saturday gave him the lead. His only regret will be leaving a handful of putts dead in the center short throughout the day. This was his second podium finish of the month in four starts.
Jim Furyk: This was his fifth top 10 in 13 starts and his third in a row. Does the metric system make him younger? I'll hang up and listen. He was T9 in 2013 at Glen Abbey so even though a couple of bombers finished one-two, Hearn and Furyk were plenty competitive and they can't hit it out of their shadow. Furyk made three bogeys (best of the week) and 52 pars (second best) as he peppered fairways and made most of the putts when he needed them. Looking to add to his RBC Heritage title fell just short but this is his fourth top five in his last eight events.
Tom Hoge: It's pronounced "hoagy". Or "hoagie" depending on where you live and what you like to eat. His final round 66 was T2 on the day behind Tony Finau's 65 and that moved him up 21 places to T5, his best ever TOUR finish. He fired 65 last Sunday at the Barbasol to finish T16 so he's strung together his best back-to-back finishes since turning pro. He played 2012-2014 on the Web.com and reached the big league by finishing 13th in finals last year. His only win professionally came on the Canadian Tour (now MacKenzie Tour) in 2011 so we shouldn't be surprised! He was 78th in fairways, T31 GIR but was ninth SGP. He only made five bogeys on the week. He'll be worth a look at QLN and Barracuda in the next couple weeks.
Stewart Cink: Swung and missed here as Cink backed his T20 at The Open Championship to hit the top 10 (T5) for the first time since QLN in 2013. The cagey veteran and major champion opened 689-73 but his 68-66 weekend shot him into the top 10. He moved 21 spots with his 66 on Sunday. He was T4 at Glen Abbey in 2004 but had not played since. He's now two-for-two in top fives on this layout regardless of routing. This is first back-to-back top 25 result since April of 2013 so forgive me if I didn't see the one week streak extending. Cink hit it steady but made enough putts to make the ball-striking count.
Adam Hadwin: The second Canadian in the top 10 adds his second RBC Canadian top 10 in the last five years. Hadwin backed up his T18 and closing 65 at the JDC with his second top 10 of 2015 (T5 Colonial). He was five-under through his first six holes and made seven birdies and an eagle as he tried to catch the leaders. He also carded three bogeys and a double to keep him out of contention. He birdied two of the last three to hit the top 10 and all but secure his 2015-16 status for next year. He's won twice on the MacKenzie Tour and twice on the Web.com Tour. Winners win. He'll turn 28 in November.
Austin Cook: Ok, one last time: T11-MC-T22-T6-T7 in 2015. Hey, he won't have to Monday qualify for QLN! Oh, wait, that's an invitational so he'll have to wait until Barracuda. Good, your competitor won't remember. YOU WILL.
Matt Kuchar: He posted four rounds of 69 and T7. Like Furyk, that's his third consecutive RBC Canadian in the top 10. He's played six in a row and put four of them in the top 10 so he's a willing participant as well. That's gold in fantasy land. Kuchar's ball-striking was the key this week as his normally trusty putter was quiet.
Charley Hoffman: I argued that he'd be happy to see a non-major setup in North America after his worldwide tour the last month. Hoffman obliged with four rounds at par or better and that gives him seven of his last eight in the red at Glen Abbey. This was his third consecutive top 10 in non-majors on TOUR and his excellent 2015 rolls on.
Chalk Dust
A quick recap of what happened to the Chalk from my preview column:
Jason Day: Winner, see above.
Jim Furyk: Solo fourth, see above.
Brooks Koepka: He began Sunday T4 and just three shots off the pace. He missed a four footer on the first hole for birdie and never got it going. He shot 74 and finished T18. This was the fifth event in his last six on TOUR that he was T18 or better and that includes T18 at Chambers Bay and T10 at St. Andrews. #LegitShit
Luke Donald: He broke par once in four tries and Tweeted that he played like a donkey. Another reminder to fantasy gamers that there is no such thing as a sure thing. And before you say "what about Spieth?", ask the folks that were on him at THE PLAYERS when he MC. Donald was disappointing this week because his form was the best in some time and more was expected from the former world No. 1. It happens.
Scott Piercy: Backed up his win last week at the Barbasol with MDF. He's never been better than T40 in three trips to the new routing at Glen Abbey and not even the momentum from last week's win could change that. He was the American Luke Donald this week.
Matt Kuchar: T7, see above.
Bubba Watson: T2, see above.
Tony Finau: Shot a Sunday and weekend best 65 to jump 48 places to T22 and another top 25 for the rookie. Gamers must remember to let all four round play out and that he's playing these courses, like Koepka, for the first time. He's hit the top 25 in 14 of 18 weekends this season. Nice bounce back after MC at JDC his last time out. He'll be in the mix again next week and right back into the Chalk.
Ryan Palmer: Figured it out too late as his 67 on Sunday only pushed him to T41. He's now played the weekend in all four trips to Glen Abbey but T22 in 2008 is the best finish.
Jerry Kelly: 73-77 and never factored. His hot streak came to a crashing halt after T30 or better in five of his last six.
Charley Hoffman: T7, see above.
Chris Stroud: His opening 75 set the hook too deep and his 68 on Friday saw him miss the weekend by a shot. In his last 18 rounds, that 75 is the only one above 70 so one bad ROUND, not a bad tournament, slowed him down. Too many good ones to ignore.
Kevin Chappell: There goes the cut streak. There goes the confidence of gamers as 75-74 wasn't close on a track where 14-under had the lead at the halfway point.
J.B. Holmes: He was five-under through his first 16 holes on the week and five-under at the halfway part. He opened double-double (animal style?) and closed the front nine bogey-bogey for 41 to start Saturday. He posted 76 and MDF.
Coming TUESDAY
-I’ll publish my weekly preview, Range Rover, around lunchtime, children permitting. I’ll focus on history, current form, course characteristics, winning qualities and those who I think will and will not.
Coming TUESDAY Afternoon
Playing the Tips will be up and running this and every Tuesday late afternoon and will list all of the Rotoworld experts picks in the GolfChannel.com game, the Yahoo! Fantasy Golf game, DFS plus the European Tour! Oh, and my One-and-Done feature. Look for it every Tuesday until the Presidents Cup.
Coming Wednesday
And the analysis doesn't end here. Rotoworld's Rob Bolton and I will be co-hosting a one-hour live chat Wednesday at NOON ET. We will be breaking down the field at the Quicken Loans National plus answering your questions. Simply return to the golf home page to join in on the chatter. Don’t forget to follow Rob (http://twitter.com/RobBoltonGolf) and Glass (http://twitter.com/mikeglasscott) on Twitter.
