Nick Taylor’s putter flip after profitable the RBC Canadian Open was the exclamation level on arguably the most effective 12 months in Canadian golf historical past.
Taylor drained a 72-foot eagle putt to finish a four-hole playoff with England’s Tommy Fleetwood on the Canadian nationwide males’s championship on June 11, the primary time a Canadian had received the title in 69 years. However Canada’s success on the course went past that, with Canadians profitable at each stage of the skilled recreation together with 4 wins on the PGA Tour and one on the LPGA Tour.
“I believe the state of Canadian professional golf, particularly on the PGA Tour, has by no means been higher,” mentioned Taylor, the primary Canadian to win the RBC Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher did it in 1954. “Our aim, as gamers, with Golf Canada is to maintain that quantity rising of Tour members.
“The extra gamers that we will get out right here, clearly, it offers us a larger likelihood of profitable an increasing number of.”
Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., joined Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., as winners on the PGA Tour within the 2022-23 season. It was essentially the most wins by Canadians in a single PGA Tour marketing campaign to this point.
“The camaraderie is nice,” mentioned Taylor, whose victory at Toronto’s Oakdale Golf and Nation Membership was the fourth win by a Canadian within the season. “I really feel like we play numerous observe rounds collectively, homes usually have dinners collectively, so all of us rally collectively.
“I believe we push one another to be higher and I believe that’s why we’ve continued to get higher and attain new heights.”
Conners, who received the Valero Texas Open for a second time on April 2, mentioned that profitable is the most effective feeling you may have in skilled golf.
“That was positively a spotlight for me,” mentioned Conners. “I believe one other spotlight, and one thing that I’m at all times very pleased with, was making it to Eastlake — the Tour Championship — and being within the prime 30 of the FedEx Cup rankings and having an opportunity to win the FedEx Cup.
“Wanting again on the 12 months as a complete I’d have appreciated to enhance on some issues, however making it there’s a good bonus as a result of it means you had an awesome 12 months.”
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., received the Diamond Resorts Match of Champions on Jan. 22 for her thirteenth victory on the LPGA Tour, essentially the most of any skilled participant in Canadian golf historical past no matter gender.
“It was a little bit bit up and down 12 months for me,” mentioned Henderson, assessing her 2023. “However it was good to attempt to defend my title on the Evian Championship with a runner-up end this 12 months, it was actually enjoyable to be again in rivalry.
“Then identical type of factor to be in our Tour Championship in November, it’s at all times a giant aim whenever you begin the season is to be in rivalry to attempt to win that, that huge cash and the race, the CME Globe in November.”
Canadian success wasn’t restricted to the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, nevertheless.Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., each received on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour to earn full-time PGA Tour standing in 2024. Meaning there shall be eight Canadians on tour with Silverman and Sloan becoming a member of Taylor, Conners, Hughes, Svensson, Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford.
Hamilton’s Alena Sharp received an Epson Tour occasion and had 5 top-10 outcomes on the second-tier tour, not lacking a reduce in 14 tournaments performed. She additionally received Canada’s second-ever golf medal on the Pan American Video games, profitable bronze in Santiago, Chile.
Sharp as soon as once more earned LPGA Tour standing by closing qualifying, as did Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., and Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont. They’ll be part of Henderson and Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., on the LPGA Tour within the new 12 months.
Two extra Canadians received on the PGA Tour Canada, a feeder circuit for the Korn Ferry Tour, with Etienne Papineau of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., and Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald every claiming a victory. Papineau completed fourth on the season-long factors listing to earn conditional standing on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., received on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, one other third-tier circuit within the PGA Tour system. Calgary’s Stephen Ames received a outstanding 4 instances on the Champions Tour.
On the novice aspect, Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C. earned the 109th Canadian Girls’s Beginner Championship and Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont. received the 118th Canadian Males’s Beginner, marking solely the third time each tournaments had been received by Canadians in the identical 12 months since 2011. Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont., grew to become the primary Canadian to make the reduce on the Augusta Girls’s Nationwide Beginner.
With the Paris Olympics coming in July and the Presidents Cup returning to Royal Montreal Golf Membership in September, Taylor expects 2024 to be a fair larger 12 months for Canadian golf.
“These two are on the prime of the listing of issues I need to be concerned in, take part in, this coming 12 months,” he mentioned.
