This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
What we had going on at Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto on Sunday was what's known in life as the "irresistible force paradox" -- when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.
In golf parlance, it's when a Canadian trying to win the Canadian Open meets Tommy Fleetwood trying to win a PGA Tour event.
No Canadian had won their national championship since 1954. Which was still more recent than the last time the Englishman had won a PGA Tour event -- which was never.
They went to a playoff and, fittingly, the playoff refused to end.
With fellow Canadian and UK players standing in the rain in the gallery in a wonderful display of support for their guys, the suspense ended in the most dramatic way possible.
On the fourth playoff hole, in the rain, after 69 years, Taylor a 72-foot putt for eagle to win the 112th Canadian Open and trigger absolute delirium on the 18th green.
Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin and 53-year-old Mike Weir led a charge of hundreds of fans onto the green to congratulate their conquering hero, spraying Taylor with what hopefully was Molson Golden and Gennie Cream Ale.
Fleetwood -- the far better player, a six-time champion in Europe and four-time runner-up on the PGA Tour, including in two majors -- graciously got to Taylor before the throng and congratulated him. Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose had been standing by to support their guy.
No Canadian had won their national championship since, as you'll recall, Pat Fletcher in 1954. Every year at this time, Canadian golfers would be reminded of Fletcher, who passed in 1985 but lived on annually ever since. Maybe now he can forever rest in peace.
Taylor is no slouch. He was ranked 69th in the world coming in with two prior Tour wins, the Sanderson Farms in 2014 and Pebble Beach in 2020. He is now up to a career-best 44th in the world, to Fleetwood's 21st. Both golfers will be in the field this week at the U.S. Open.
The 72-foot putt was the longest of Taylor's career, which was a fitting way to end one of the longest droughts in golf history.
MONDAY BACKSPIN
Tommy Fleetwood
We're often compelled in such situations to say that the runner-up's time will come, but after so many close calls in which Fleetwood didn't get the W, when? He's been a bridesmaid at the 2018 U.S. Open, the 2019 Open Championship and the old WGC-Mexico in 2017. He's a longtime top-25 golfer who once briefly cracked the top-10. He leads the Tour this season in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green. Wouldn't it be something if Fleetwood could come right back and win the U.S. Open? It might be hard for him just to get this bitter defeat out of his head by Thursday.
Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton continues to be the best player on Tour without a win this season – and he's been better than many who have won. Hatton shot 30 on the back nine and birdied his final four holes, only to come up one shot short of the playoff. He tied for third. He now has a runner-up, two thirds, a fourth, fifth and sixth this season. In his past six starts, Hatton and three top-10s and three top-20s. He moved up to No. 15 in the world heading into a U.S. Open he very much could win.
Aaron Rai
This season has not been as good as last year for the Englishman, especially lately. So his tie for third was much needed. Rai had missed four of his past five cuts coming in. He continues to be a good ball-striker but he has not been able to overcome terrible putting. He was ranked 175th on Tour entering the week. In the OWGR, he's back up to 92nd.
C.T. Pan
Pan was a late entry into the field – he doesn't get into tournaments every week. But he's surely made the most of his past two opportunities, following his a solo fourth at the Byron Nelson with a three-way share of third at the Canadian Open. Pan once was a top-50 player, so this isn't out of nowhere. The top-10 now guarantees him a spot in the Travelers field the week after the U.S. Open.
Eric Cole
Cole went through the rugged Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Open qualifier on Monday and got into the field. Like other guys who qualified, he could've withdrawn from the Canadian field. But he didn't, indicating he was taking this week seriously. He tied for sixth, continuing a brilliant season that began out of nowhere at the Honda Classic and now has Cole ranked 84th in the world.
Mark Hubbard
Hubbard will be disappointed with his tie for sixth. He just didn't go as low as some others Sunday (he shot 2-under). But it continued a really good stretch and he climbed into the top-100 in the world rankings for the first time, at No. 87. Hubbard has now made six straight cuts, with two top-10s and two more top-20s, plus a cash at the PGA Championship.
Justin Rose
Rose won't be happy with a solo eighth after contending for the title until a double on No. 8 sunk his chances. But it's yet another great week in a rebound season for the 43-year-old Englishman who heads to the U.S. Open with a chance for another very high finish. Rose is now back in the top-25 OWGR at No. 25.
Rory McIlroy
As we've seen so many times, McIlroy just couldn't get it done on Sunday when he was in position to do so. Only this was not in a loaded field. Playing in the penultimate pairing, McIlroy limped home with an even-par 72 while there were 63s and 64s out on the course. His bid for a three-peat ended in ninth place. He now heads to the U.S. Open, where it would be no surprise to see McIlroy finish in the top-10 but come up short once again.
Corey Conners
Halfway through the tournament, Canada's top player was in position to end his country's long dry spell. But Conners could muster only a 70-74 on the weekend to tumble into a tie for 20th. He's had some bright sports this season – notably winning the Valero – but he doesn't seem like the same solid player as in years past.
Sam Bennett
The 2022 U.S. Amateur champion who has turned pro and will be at the U.S. Open had another good week. He tied for 20th, which followed a tie for 16th at the Masters, a made cut at the Memorial and a tie for 49th at last year's U.S. Open.
Ludvig Aberg
The former world No. 1 amateur now has his Tour card for finishing first in the PGA Tour's University standings. Aberg made his debut with a top-25 and, while he won't be at the U.S. Open, he'll be back in action the following week at the Travelers.
Sahith Theegala
Since back-to-back top-10s at the Masters and RBC Heritage, Theegala has not cracked the top-40 in four straight starts, including this week's tie for 38th. He seemed to be immune to the second-year slump that has befallen others through the years, including Tom Kim this season, but now he is slumping too. Is he tired?
Mike Weir
Kudos to the 53-year-old Weir for making the cut in his national championship. It was the first time he had done so in nine years. The Champions Tour player tied for 52nd.
Cameron Young
Young tied for 57th and now has not cracked the top-50 in his past five starts since a top-10 at the Masters and his runner-up at the WGC-Match Play. Things were supposed to be different when veteran caddie Paul Tesori came on the bag, but something is amiss either with Young or the tandem.
MISSED CUTS
Sam Burns, Adam Svensson, Mackenzie Hughes, Keith Mitchell, Aaron Wise, Maverick McNealy, Michael Thorbjornsen, Michael Block
Burns continues to have good or great weeks and bad, lacking the true consistency that the very top players have. You never know if a player is satisfied with two rounds the week before a major just as a tuneup. … Svensson and Hughes are Canadians and clearly wanted to play all four rounds this week, though may help their U.S. Open chances. … Mitchell, Wise and McNealy have not been playing great of late, though missing the cut in this field is a surprise. Mitchell and Wise now head to the U.S. Open … Thorbjornsen, the darling of last year's Open at the Country Club but missed the cut, has qualified again and will be at Los Angeles Country Club this week. … Block made a gallant effort at the Toronto qualifier for the Open and came up short, then missed the cut here by three strokes. This should so it for Block on the PGA Tour this season, but there's always a chance he gets another sponsor invite.
