Caledon, Ont. – Teammates William and Alex Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs) came away victorious in a playoff to win the inaugural RBC Canadian Open / NHLPA Faceoff on Thursday, at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, Ont.
Each of the 10 teams began their round at different holes, gathering points through a net Stableford format before four squads culminated at the iconic no.14 Rink Hole to compete in a sudden-death, total gross score playoff.
Competing with Sam Gagner and Ryan McLeod (Buffalo Sabres), Jamie Drysdale (Philadelphia Flyers) and Will Cuylle (New York Rangers), and NHL alumni Jeff O’Neill (Hartford Whalers / Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs) and Carlo Colaiacovo (Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers), the Nylander brothers successfully hit each of their tee shots closest to the pin to put themselves in position to win the playoff.
Putting from within 15 feet of the hole and closer than any other player on the 14th green, William rolled in his sixth birdie of the day to secure his team the championship.
“It feels great,” commented William just moments after landing his walk-off putt. “We had a blast out there, our group was pretty good, and we had a lot of fun.”
The duo entered the playoff in a tie for second alongside O’Neill and Colaiacovo with 45 net Stableford points. Gagner and McLeod led the field after 18 holes with 47 net Stableford points while Drysdale and Cuylle pieced together 37 points.
To view the full leaderboard from Thursday’s round, please click here.
Starting his round on the fourth hole, Drysdale emphatically powered his side into the early lead on Thursday without leaving the tee box. The Flyers defenceman optioned for a pitching wedge on the 150-yard par-3 and tumbled his tee shot towards the flagstick before his ball fell into the cup for a hole-in-one. A major highlight of the round, Drysdale admitted it was the first ace of his life and was initially unaware his ball dropped in the hole after his shot.
“I didn’t know it went in for thirty seconds and then I just found out it went in. I was kind of shell shocked, not much of a reaction out of the gate but definitely really cool,” said Drysdale following his round.
“It was a fantastic day for the RBC Canadian Open / NHLPA Faceoff. It was great to see something that started as an idea really culminate into a fantastic event,” commented Tim McLaughlin, Chief Marketing Officer at Golf Canada.
“We had great support from the NHLPA, all the players were really enthusiastic, and we saw some amazing golf being played. A great way to set up what shapes up to be one of the most exciting RBC Canadian Opens on record,” added McLaughlin.
The 114th playing of the RBC Canadian Open will take place June 4-8 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley (North Course) in Caledon, Ont. For more information on the RBC Canadian Open, including volunteer opportunities or to purchase tickets, please visit rbccanadianopen.com.