New Zealand’s Ryan Fox wins four-hole playoff vs. American Sam Burns at RBC Canadian Open

CALEDON, ONT. – Despite recent evidence to the contrary, Ryan Fox doesn’t consider himself a playoff specialist.
The New Zealander beat American Sam Burns in a four-hole playoff to win the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday, the second win of his PGA Tour career. The first also came in a playoff on May 11 when he birdied the first extra hole to beat Harry Higgs of the United States and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., to win the Oneflight Myrtle Beach Classic.
“If you’d have seen any of the ones I had in Europe, you wouldn’t say that,” said Fox, sitting beside the Canadian Open trophy at a news conference. “I didn’t have a great record in Europe in playoffs.
“I feel like you’ve got to take it on a little bit. It becomes match play. You kind of want to put the pressure on your opponent a little bit.”
Fox had an 0-2 playoff record on the European Tour, losing to Scotland’s Russell Knox at the 2018 Irish Open and to France’s Victor Perez at the 2022 Dutch Open.
He had to work to force the extra holes on Sunday.
Burns fired an 8-under 62 round, the best of the day, to lay claim to the top of the leaderboard. However, he had teed off an hour 45 minutes earlier than Fox and Italy’s Matteo Manaserro, the third round co-leaders.
As a result, Fox still had most of the course to play as Burns was signing his scorecard. Fox birdied Nos. 14 and 15 to get to within a shot of Burns and then sank a clutch birdie putt on No. 18 for a 4-under 66 day that forced the playoff.
No. 18 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley is a 576-yard, par-5 hole with the sloping green tucked behind a small pond with bunkers on the far side.
“I think 18’s a different hole compared to what it has been all week, not being able to get there in two,” said Burns on the possibility of a playoff and how he would prepare for it. “So I’ll probably (be at the range) trying to figure out what distance we want to have in for our third shot and maybe hit that shot a few times.”
After Fox and Burns made par on their first two playoff holes. The grounds crew actually cut a new hole closer to the tee — and the water — for the third and fourth runs down the hole.
Fox’s bolder approach on the second and fourth playoff rounds, designed to put pressure on Burns, finally paid off when he attacked the new pin.
“I had the exact shot I wanted to hit,” said Fox, who qualified for next week’s U.S. Open with the victory. “I wasn’t sure in the air if it was going to be a little short or perfect. I didn’t actually see it land. It was getting a bit hazy out there. Obviously by the crowd reaction I knew it was pretty good.
“Probably the best shot I ever hit in my life given the circumstances.”
Members of the All Whites, New Zealand’s national men’s soccer team, drove up to TPC Toronto on Sunday to cheer on Fox. They beat Ivory Coast 1-0 the night before at BMO Field in the Canadian Shield tournament and will face Ukraine on Tuesday.
“That was really cool, to have the Kiwi support out there, it was great,” said Fox. “They were there all day. We seem to have a lot of weeks where random Kiwis pop up, and to have the All Whites say, ‘hey, is there any chance we can come out and watch on Sunday?’ was really cool.
“To be able to meet them all there at the end and get a photo with them was pretty special.”
Grant Fox, Ryan’s father, was a fly half with the All Blacks, New Zealand’s men’s rugby team, appearing in 46 matches and scoring 645 points in his career. The elder Fox won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 and is still considered one of the finest goal-kickers of all time, getting inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2014.
Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., was the low Canadian, tying for 13th at 13 under. Taylor won the Canadian Open two years ago at Oakdale Golf and Country Club.
“The energy was phenomenal the first couple days and being near the lead the last two days,” said Taylor, who will play in the U.S. Open next week at Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh. “I’m tired from it as well because it’s fun being up close to the lead and trying to get it done.
“I’ll get some rest the next couple days and be prepared.”
TPC Toronto will host the Canadian Open again next year.
It was a tight leaderboard throughout the round, with eight players tied for first before Fox and Manaserro even teed off.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry, for example, began his day with an eagle and followed it up with three consecutive birdies to start his day 5 under through just four holes to take sole possession of the lead. He bogeyed Nos. 17 and 18 to fall back into a tie for 13th.
Nick Taylor wins Rivermead Cup as low Canadian at RBC Canadian Open

Nick Taylor was once again the low Canadian at the RBC Canadian Open, just not the way he would have liked.
Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., earned the Rivermead Cup, the trophy for the lowest scoring Canadian at the national men’s golf championship, for the first time. Of course, he’s been the low Canadian at the PGA Tour event before, when he won the tournament in 2023 to end a 69-year drought for Canadians at their own open.
“I’ll take some pride in that,” said Taylor on Sunday after he shot a 3-under 67 to tie for 13th at 13 under. “It stings with the finish today, but I’m happy I gave it a run.
“I thought 17 under would be a playoff potentially, but being given a chance with a few holes to go is kind of what you’re looking for. It didn’t pan out this time, but if that’s a consolation prize, it’s nice.”
There actually was a playoff at 18 under as New Zealand’s Ryan Fox beat American Sam Burns in four holes at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.
Corey Conners (68) of Listowel, Ont., Adam Hadwin (70) of Abbotsford, Taylor Pendrith (70) of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Mackenzie Hughes (72) of Dundas, Ont., all tied for 27th at 10 under.
Conners entered the tournament as the top ranked Canadian on the PGA Tour but will drop one spot, down to 10th, on the FedEx Cup standings. Hadwin has struggled this season and earned enough points to move six spots up the rankings to 114th.
“I’ve put myself in a hole these first five months of the year. I’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Hadwin. “That being said, given the way this week went and how I played and some of the positive things I did, kind of lean into that.
“Just put the head down and keep moving forward.”
Conners, Pendrith, Hughes and Taylor will all be back at it at next week’s U.S. Open, the third major of the men’s golf season. Conners said that the Canadian Open was a strong tune-up before Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh.
“Coming into the week, I knew there was some room for improvement with my iron play,” said Conners. “I felt like I kind of got that sorted out, and I’m pretty happy with where things are at the moment.
“I think everything’s going to be required next week to be successful. Despite not having really the result I wanted here, I am pretty optimistic about where things are at.”
Ben Silverman (69) of Thornhill, Ont., and Vancouver’s Richard T. Lee (70) were tied for 36th. Lee is the top Canadian on the Asian Tour, sitting third on its order of merit heading into the Canadian Open. It was his first time ever making the cut at a PGA Tour event.
“It was amazing. I’ve never seen this many galleries cheering me on,” said Lee. “I would love to come back next year. It was a great feeling. I don’t know how many times I got goosebumps from all the fans just cheering me on.
“I just want to thank all the Canadian fans out there.”
Matthew Anderson (70) of Mississauga, Ont., tied for 47th at 7 under after making the cut at a PGA Tour event for the first time.
Yu, McCarty and Young qualify for The Open at Royal Portrush through RBC Canadian Open

Kevin Yu, Matt McCarty and Cameron Young have secured their spots in the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush following strong performances at the RBC Canadian Open.
Yu earned the first qualifying place with a third-place finish at 17-under 263, just behind already exempt players Sam Burns and Ryan Fox. McCarty and Young, both tied for fourth at 16-under 264, claimed the remaining two qualifying positions.
The next event in The Open Qualifying Series is the Italian Open, set for June 26–29 at Argentario Golf Club.
Canada’s Matthew Anderson enjoying taste of life on PGA Tour at RBC Canadian Open

Matthew Anderson could get used to this kind of treatment.
The Mississauga, Ont., native, like all eight Canadians in the field at the RBC Canadian Open, was serenaded with the national anthem at just about every hole in Saturday’s third round. Anderson, who plays on the Korn Ferry Tour and is playing on the weekend of a PGA Tour event for the first time ever, appreciated the gesture.
“Your adrenalin gets pumping but also, me and my caddie have a job to do,” said Anderson, standing outside the clubhouse at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. “We have to pace off the number, find our numbers, and decide what we’re gonna do with the shot.
“You try and take it in a little bit, of course, right? Like, look around and wave and be grateful and appreciative. But, I mean, we’re also trying to make a shot for the fans.”
Anderson is the third-highest ranked Canadian on the Korn Ferry Tour, sitting 57th on the second-tier circuit’s points list heading into play this week. However, he decided to skip the BMW Charity Pro-Am in Greer, S.C., to instead play in the Canadian Open, the national men’s golf championship.
That gamble has paid off as he was tied for 36th at 7-under overall after three rounds.
“We’re obviously not done yet, but I’ve really proved myself by going out and being there and having a good round, and hitting good shots under pressure with people watching,” said Anderson. “I know I belong here.
“Obviously, the Korn Ferry Tour is also a really competitive tour, right? I think good golf is good golf anywhere, but knowing I can play good golf over here is great to take back there.”
Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., fired a 6-under 64 to moved 13 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for sixth, two shots behind co-leaders Matteo Manassero of Italy and Ryan Fox of New Zealand.
Adam Hadwin (65) of Abbotsford, B.C., Taylor Pendrith (67) of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Nick Taylor (69) of Abbotsford were tied for 16th at 10 under. Hadwin said after his round he’s decided to lean into playing to the crowd at the Canadian Open, donning a Team Canada hockey jersey for his put on No. 14, the hockey-themed Rink hole.
Hadwin said the stunt isn’t without its challenges, however.
“The biggest one being that I am a very small framed individual, and I don’t think they make hockey jerseys that small,” he joked. “It’s a little bulky, as you can see. I had to roll up the sleeves. I actually tucked them into my own sleeves so they wouldn’t fall down.
“I certainly couldn’t hit a golf shot in it, but making a putt is fine.”
Poking a little fun at himself and embracing the crowds is a new mental approach for Hadwin, who has usually been more reserved in the past.
“Just trying to walk around with a little bit more swagger, keep telling myself that I am that good, that I can do this, that I know how to hit this shot, and feed off the crowd a little bit,” said Hadwin. “I had a lot of fun out there.
“Approaching greens and all that stuff, acknowledging them. Taking in that atmosphere on No. 14 around that tee box. That’s so cool. It’s so much fun as a Canadian to be up there.”
Vancouver’s Richard T. Lee (70) was tied for 25th at 9 under. Ben Silverman (65) of Thornhill, Ont., and Corey Conners (66) of Listowel, Ont., were tied for 29th at 8 under.
Manassero, Fox take third-round lead at RBC Canadian Open; Hughes low Canadian

Italy’s Matteo Manassero and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox both had rounds of 6-under 64 to share the third-round lead at the RBC Canadian Open on Saturday.
They’re at 14-under overall, a shot ahead of a Taiwan’s Kevin Yu as well as Americans Lee Hodges and Matt McCarty.
Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., fired a 6-under 64 to move 13 spots up the leaderboard into a tie with Americans Jake Knapp and Andrew Putnam for sixth at 12 under.
Second-round leader Cameron Champ of the U.S. struggled, shooting a 1-over 71 to drop back into a seven-way tie for ninth at 11 under.
Hughes was one of eight Canadians who made the cut at the national men’s golf championship.
Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Vancouver’s Richard T. Lee, the low Canadians after two rounds, also dropped down the leaderboard.
McIlroy tumbles out of RBC Canadian Open with a 78. Champ takes 2-shot lead into the weekend

Masters champion Rory McIlroy tumbled out of the RBC Canadian Open on Friday with his worst round in nearly a year, with Cameron Champ taking a two-stroke lead into the weekend in the final event before the U.S. Open.
McIlroy shot an 8-under 78, making a mess of the fifth hole with a quadruple-bogey 8 in his highest score since also shooting 78 last year in the first round of the British Open. He had a double bogey on No. 11, four bogeys and two birdies.
“Of course it concerns me,” McIlroy said. “You don’t want to shoot high scores like the one I did today. Still, I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver thinking that that sort of was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn’t.”
At 9 over, the two-time Canadian Open winner was 21 strokes behind Champ on the rain-softened North Course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.
“Obviously, going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways,” McIlroy said. “Still sort of searching for the sort of missing piece off the tee.”
Champ had four birdies in a 68 in the morning a day after opening with a 62. He was at 12 under, playing the first 36 holes without a bogey.
“It’s firmed up a little bit, but fairly similar to yesterday,” Champ said. “The fairways I feel like were firming up a little bit. The greens slightly, but pretty close to how they were yesterday.”
The three-time PGA Tour winner got one of the last spots in the field after being the eighth alternate Friday when the commitments closed.
“I definitely didn’t think I was getting in,” Champ said.
Andrew Putnam was second after a bogey-free 62 on the course hosting the event for the first time. He won the 2018 Barracuda Championship for his lone tour title.
“I hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of good iron shots, too, and my putter was on fire,” Putnam said. “Pretty much did everything right. Didn’t really make many mistakes.”
Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark, tied for the first-round lead with Cristobal Del Solar after a 61, had a 70 drop into a tie for third at 9 under with Canadians Richard Lee (64) and Nick Taylor (65) and France’s Victor Perez (65).
Taylor won the 2023 event at Oakdale.
“Hung in there,” Taylor said. “Making a birdie on the last was important to end the day nicely.”
Del Solar was 8 under after a 71. Shane Lowry (68) also was 8 under with Ryan Fox (66), Jake Knapp (69), Sam Burns (66) and Matteo Manassero (65).
Pendrith low Canadian at the RBC Canadian Open, 4 shots back of co-leaders Olesen, Del Solar

Three of Canada’s best golfers are in one of the marquee groups at the RBC Canadian Open and they’re living up to that top billing.
Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., were in the morning wave together in Thursday’s opening round. They were just ahead of a group that featured world No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, Sweden’s Ludwig Aberg and Luke Clanton of the United States.
Pendrith was tied with Americans Alex Smalley and Paul Peterson at 5-under 65 to hold the clubhouse lead. They dropped down into a nine-way tie for eighth once the afternoon wave was finished. Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen and Chile’s Cristobal Del Solar both flirted with the course record at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, firing 9-under 61 rounds to finish the first round atop the leaderboard.
“It was great out there. I felt like the crowd really filled in on the back nine,” said Pendrith, standing within sight of the 18th green. “Nick was making some birdies, and I was making some birdies. Mac holed a 6-iron on 5.
“So it was a lot of fun. The crowd was into it. Nice to see a lot of people out here on a rainy day. We had a blast out there, and we all played pretty well.”
Taylor, the 2023 winner of the men’s national golf championship, was a shot back of Pendrith tied with a group for 16th. Hughes shot a 2-under 68 to sit in a tie with Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., among others.
“It was fun to feed off each other. It’s better than going the other way, obviously,” said Taylor. “Everyone played well.
“Mac probably could have made a couple more putts where he normally does, but for all of us to be under par, it was a good start.”
It was a far cry from their first appearances at the Canadian Open, when they were all amateurs getting to play in the national championship thanks to sponsor exemptions.
“It’s cool to look back on. I think 2008 might have been my first Canadian Open, and I teed off at 7:30 at night because we had a long rain delay, and that was kind of my unique first start,” said Taylor. “Fast forward 17 years, being the featured group, it’s cool. It’s what we dreamt about.”
Pendrith agreed with Taylor, adding that his first Canadian Open appearance at Royal Montreal Golf Club in 2014 was formative for him.
“Those experiences, I think, help me,” said Pendrith. “It’s one of the biggest events for us, and it’s one that we look forward to all year.
“It’s my fifth or sixth Canadian Open now, and it’s nice to play in a group with those guys and have all the fans supporting us. It’s the week that we look forward to every year.”
It’s a tradition on the PGA Tour that all the Canadians in the field practice together on the Tuesday of tournament week. That camaraderie bled over into Thursday’s round.
“To play a practice round with a couple buddies — excuse me, tournament round, it felt like a practice round is what I’m trying to say — It was a lot of fun,” said Taylor. “We kept it loose. It was nice to see a few birdies go in.”
A thunderstorm Wednesday night and continued rain into the morning made the greens soft and accuracy important. It affected spectators too, as they had to seek cover in the morning.
Fans who tried to come in the early afternoon struggled to find parking as one of two public lots at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley had to be closed because the heavy rainfall made the ground too soft to be driven on. The other parking lot quickly filled up, so Golf Canada encouraged spectators to use ride share or public drop-off if possible.
Olesen said that the rainy conditions actually helped him take the lead.
“Obviously, they’re a little bit softer than what they were yesterday,” he said. “I didn’t actually see the front nine until today. That worked out well maybe not to know any of the holes really.
“Sometimes you just have a feel of the greens and you just look at it, and you can sort of see the lines easy, and that was one of those days for me.”
All-Canadian trio of Taylor, Pendrith and Hughes to draw crowds at RBC Canadian Open

It’s always a busy week for Canada’s top male golfers ahead of the RBC Canadian Open, with more media appearances and sponsor events than other PGA Tour events.
But on Tuesday, as Nick Taylor, Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes were participating in the event’s media day, their cellphones came alive. The tee times for the only PGA Tour event in Canada had been announced and the trio would play together in an all-Canadian group for the tournament’s first two rounds.
“We were all fired up. I don’t think I’ve played with Mackenzie on the PGA Tour, not that I can remember, so that’ll be fun,” said Pendrith. “And Nick, I mean, legend of the tournament in Canada, so that’ll be really fun.
“There will be a lot of people out there.”
The group includes three of the four highest-ranked Canadians on tour. Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., is 16th. Pendrith, from Richmond Hill, Ont., is 29th, and Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., is 46th.
However, Taylor is the face of the Canadian Open — his silhouette is literally the “I” in the tournament’s logo — and one of the marquee attractions after he won the men’s national championship in 2023 to end a 69-year drought for Canadians at the event.
Taylor said that it will be a comfortable pairing for him since he knows Pendrith and Hughes so well. They also expect some of the largest galleries on Thursday and Friday, with Canadians supporting them but also waiting to see the big-name grouping of Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg and Luke Clanton of the United States immediately behind them.
“I play with those guys a lot of weeks in practice rounds so it will be fun,” said Taylor. “Two Ontario boys, there’s going to be a lot of support for the three of us. I’m going to enjoy that.
“All of us — caddies, players — all six of us are Canadian. We just know each other well. (…) Hopefully, we can get some birdies going early, get some energy going our way, and hopefully have a few nice rounds.”
Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., is the top-ranked Canadian in the world, sitting ninth in the FedEx Cup standings. He said his feelings were barely hurt to not be in the all-Canadian trio.
“I spend enough time playing with those guys,” joked Conners, who will have to settle for playing with 2024 Canadian Open champion Robert MacIntyre of Scotland and Ireland’s Shane Lowry. “I know those three guys will have a lot of fun together.
“Regardless of who I’m playing with, I’ll be feeling the love from the Canadian fans, and it’s going to be a fun week.”
Pendrith, Conners’s teammate at Kent State University and later on the International Team of the Presidents Cup, said his friend will be OK.
“Corey has got a good group. He’ll be fine,” Pendrith said with a laugh. “I was expecting to hopefully play with one of my fellow Canadians this week because it’s a cool week for us, and to get a full group of them will be a blast.
“But Corey will be all right. He’ll have lots of fan support. He’s got a good group, as well.”
There are 24 Canadians in the field at TPC Toronto in Osprey Valley, a sprawling parkland-style course in Alton, a community within the municipality of Caledon, Ont.
That includes Hall of Famer Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., and Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Mississauga, Ont., the top-ranked Canadian on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour, will make his PGA Tour debut on Thursday. A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C., the top-ranked Canadian on the third-tier PGA Tour Americas, will play in the Canadian Open for a second time, having missed the cut in 2022.
David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., Matthew Anderson of Mississauga, Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., Toronto’s Richard T. Lee, Vancouver’s Brett Webster, Mark Hoffman of Wasaga Beach, Ont., Matthew Scobie of Oshawa, Ont., Calgary’s Wes Heffernan, and Cougar Collins from Caledon will also tee it up.
Calgary’s Hunter Thomson, who just ended his collegiate career at the University of Michigan, will be playing in his first tournament as a professional.
Amateurs Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont., Justin Matthews of Little Britain, Ont., and Toronto’s Matthew Javier are also in the field.
Rory McIlroy chasing third title as Robert MacIntyre looks to repeat at Canadian Open

Rory McIlroy and Robert MacIntyre don’t just love playing golf, they’re students of the history of the game.
That’s why they’re both set on once again capturing the RBC Canadian Open and blocking a Canadian from winning on home soil.
The pair have combined for three of the past four Canadian Open titles, with Northern Ireland’s McIlroy winning in 2019 and 2022, and Scotland’s MacIntyre emerging victorious last year. If McIlroy wins again, he’ll join Lee Trevino, Sam Snead and Tommy Armour as a three-time champion.
“Anytime you start to rack up multiple wins in places, especially with a trophy like the Canadian Open and the names that are on that trophy, there’s not many that are on it three times,” said McIlroy on Wednesday. “So yeah, it would be very cool.
“I’d love to get myself in the mix at the weekend and have an opportunity to do it.”
American Leo Diegel is the only player to win the 121-year-old championship four times (1924, 1925, 1928 and 1929). Diegel, Trevino, Snead, and Armour are all in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
MacIntyre’s first-ever PGA Tour title was at last year’s Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club. He followed that up six weeks later with a win at his home nation’s Genesis Scottish Open.
He said on Tuesday that “national opens are huge” for him and the sport of golf.
“Being from Europe, we’ve got a lot of national opens: Scottish Open, French Open, Spanish Open, one event in Belgium, last week in Austria,” said MacIntyre in the media centre at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, the host of this year’s Canadian Open. “I just think it brings out more if there’s one event in a specific area, like here this week.
“National opens are a massive part of the game. I just wish that we’d done more to promote a lot more national opens.”
There are 24 Canadians in the field this year at TPC Toronto, with Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., front and centre. While he’s not the highest-ranked Canadian on tour — that’s Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., who sits ninth on the points list — Taylor won the Canadian Open in 2023, ending a 69-year drought for Canucks at the men’s national championship.
“My game feels good. It’s been a pretty consistent year,” said Taylor, who is No. 16 on the FedEx Cup standings. “I haven’t been trying to reinvent the wheel at all, just being more consistent off the tee, which has helped. Iron game has been strong this year, and the short game has been solid.
“It’s come together nicely in some bigger tournaments, which is always the goal to start the year.”
MacIntyre, for his part, is willing to play spoiler to the home fans.
“There’s a lot of Canadian players here this week obviously wanting to win the Canadian Open,” he said. “Everyone’s wanting to win this week, but it just adds an extra incentive for the Canadian guys because it’s the Canadian Open, and I think the crowd also builds on that.
“They try to get some more kind of praise and applause for good golf to the Canadians, which is — I mean, I get that in Scotland and elsewhere, wherever, like a Frenchman in France, it’s the exact same stuff.”
Temperatures reached 30 C during Wednesday’s pro-am at TPC Toronto, with the humidex making it feel like 34.
Rain was expected overnight and into the morning as the first round tees off. The forecast calls for a mix of sun and clouds for the remaining three rounds with gusts up to 31 km/h.
“I don’t know if you can call any course a typical TPC setup, but that’s kind of what it’s like,” said McIlroy. “A little bit of room off the tee, the fairways are quite generous, but if you miss them, the rough is pretty penal. The greens are tricky, undulating, really got to hit it into the right sections.
“I think it could be a good test by the end of the week if there’s no rain and it firms up a little bit and they can tuck the pins away.”
DiMarco, Goldenberg, Cao and Javier pick up final exemptions to RBC Canadian Open field amid dramatic finish to Final Qualifier

Caledon, Ont. – The field is now set as the final four players locked up their spots in the 2025 RBC Canadian Open on Sunday following the Final Qualifier at The Pulpit Club in Caledon, Ont.
Americans Christian DiMarco of Tampa, Fla., and Josh Goldenberg of Scarsdale, N.Y. claimed the top two spots on Sunday’s leaderboard to earn their exemptions, while Yi Cao of Beijing, China (Delta, B.C. resident) finished in a tie for second with Goldenberg to secure his exemption.
Team Canada NextGen member, Matthew Javier of North York, Ont., battled out with fellow Canadian Mark Hoffman of Toronto, Ont. for the final spot in the 2025 RBC Canadian Open field.
The two played the 18th hole to decide the winner with both finding the green on their approach. Putting from distance, Javier placed his birdie putt five feet left of the hole, while Hoffman laboured to a bogey finish. Javier converted on his par putt to secure the tournament’s final spot and end a dramatic Final Qualifier at The Pulpit Club.
“It’s been a lifelong dream to play an event on the PGA TOUR,” commented Javier following his playoff win on Sunday. Javier started his round at 9 a.m. and wrapped up play nearly 11 hours later, taking to a Matchplay mindset to secure the playoff victory over Hoffman.
DiMarco – who made his professional golf debut two weeks ago on the Korn Ferry Tour – led the group of players to earn an exemption on Sunday with a three-under par performance. A pair of early birdies at the first and third holes vaulted DiMarco into red figures to begin his round before adding two more birdies at the 11th and 12th to nab the top spot on the leaderboard. DiMarco is the son of golfer Chris DiMarco, who currently plays on the PGA TOUR Champions.
“I think it’s a testament to the work I’ve put in over the years and know that I just keep doing the right things and good things will happen,” said DiMarco who admitted to not having his sharpest game amid the afternoon’s windy and cool conditions.
DiMarco’s countryman, Josh Goldenberg of Scarsdale, N.Y., carded five birdies on his round to help secure his spot in next week’s field at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, Ont. Goldenberg entered the final three holes of his round at four-under par, but was reeled into a T2 finish alongside Cao after bogeys at holes 16 and 18. Teeing off at 7:40 a.m. local time, Goldenberg was forced to wait nearly eight hours to confirm his spot in next week’s Canadian Men’s National Open and passed the time by studying for one of his exams.
“At the end of the day it was totally out of my control and whatever was going to happen, I just tried accepting that,” said Goldenberg. “This is a dream come true, something I’ve thought about for my entire life. I just can’t believe it’s happening.”
Like the Americans ahead of him, Cao birdied the par-four 12th to get to his round back to even par before going on a decisive scoring run to punch his ticket to the RBC Canadian Open. Adding back-to-back birdies on holes 13 and 14, Cao worked his way to a two-under par performance to join Goldenberg with the clubhouse lead after both headlined the morning wave.
The 2025 RBC Canadian Open will run from June 4 – June 8 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley (North Course) in Caledon, Ont.