Rory McIlroy successfully defended his RBC Canadian Open title after firing a final round 62 to win by two shots from Tony Finau at St George’s Golf & Country Club in Toronto.
Sharing the lead with Finau after 54 holes, McIlroy covered the opening nine holes on Sunday in 29 strokes – the first time he has ever done that on the PGA Tour – with an electrifying display of controlled driving and precision wedge play, including holing out for birdie on the 6th hole from off the green. On the back nine, McIlroy started with three consecutive birdies, nearly driving the green en route to a gain at 10, firing an 111-yard approach shot to 19 inches on11 and a holing 40-foot putt on 12.
And despite bogeys on 14 and 16, a birdie on the final hole, courtesy of another stunning wedge from 140 yards to just a few feet, saw McIlroy finish with a 62 and a 19-under-par winning total.
Speaking after the win, which was his 21st PGA Tour success, McIlroy couldn’t resist having a not-so-subtle dig at the LIV Golf Series, saying: “It’s incredible, playing with Tony and JT today, two of the top players in the world, all of us playing the way we did. The worst score in the group was six under par. It was pretty entertaining being part of it – the crowd, the calibre of play, everything about today was first class. “It [the PGA Tour] is the best tour in the world, with the best talent.”
Alluding to eclipsing LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman’s record of 20 PGA Tour wins, McIlroy added: “I had extra motivation because of what’s going on across the pond. The guy that’s spearheading that tour has 20 wins on the PGA Tour and I was tied with him and I wanted to get one ahead of him. And I did. So that was really cool for me – just a little sense of pride on that one. This is a day I’ll remember for a long, long time.”
Justin Rose finished five shots behind McIlroy in joint fourth after shooting a bogey on the last when needing a birdie for a record-equalling 58. He had to settle for a 10-under-par 60, which included three eagles, seven birdies, five pars and three bogeys.
For the final round leaderboard, click here.
Rory McIlroy WITB
Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus Driver (9°)
Fairway Woods: TaylorMade SIM 3 (15°), TaylorMade Stealth Plus 5 (19°)
Irons: TaylorMade Rors Prototype (3-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind 3 (54°, 60°)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider X Hydro Blast
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x