Has a Canadian golfer ever won the RBC Canadian Open 2023? Past champions explored
The PGA Tour is in Toronto, Canada, this week for the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, which will take place from June 8 to 11 at Oakdale Golf & Country Club. 156 players will be competing for the $9 million purse.
With 119 years of history, the Canadian Open is the third-oldest event that is still running. This will be the 112th edition of the event.
With over 100 years of history, the Canadian Open has witnessed winners from countries like the United States, England, Australia, Canada, Scotland, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, New Zealand, Fiji, and Sweden.
In recent times, the RBC Canadian Open hasn't been lucky for the local players. It has been 69 years since the tournament saw a Canadian winner. In 1954, Pat Fletcher became the fourth and last Canadian to win the home event. Only seven times has a Canadian tasted success at the local tournament. Charles Murray (1906, 1911), Albert Murray (1908, 1913), and Karl Keffer (1909, 1914) each won the event twice in their careers.
It's not that a Canadian hasn't come close to winning the RBC Canadian Open since 1954. Mike Weir was close to creating history on the 100th-anniversary event in 2004 when he had a three-stroke lead after 54 holes at Glen Abbey Golf Course. Weir was doing good halfway through the fourth round as he was 4-under with eight holes to go.
Weir went on to make three bogeys in the back nine and ended up in a playoff with Vijay Singh of Fiji. Weir missed an eagle putt on the first extra hole, followed by missing a 5-foot putt on the second playoff hole. The worst came in the third hole when his third shot found the water crushing his hopes of becoming the first Canadian in 50 years to win the Canadian Open.
In 2015, David Hearn entered the final round with a two-shot lead and went on to hold the lead until the 15th hole. However, Jason Day went on to hole three straight birdies from 17-19 hole helping him overtake Hearn. Bubba Watson also jumped ahead of Hearn eventually. Canadian amateur Jared du Toit finished T-9 in 2016 after trailing by a single shot ahead of the fourth day.
Past Canadian winners of the RBC Canadian Open explored
Here's the list of Canadians to win the RBC Canadian Open:
- Charles Murray: 1906, 1911
- Albert Murray: 1908, 1913
- Karl Keffer: 1909, 1914
- Pat Fletcher: 1954
Who has won the RBC Canadian Open the most times? Multiple-time winners explored
Leo Diegel has won the Canadian Open the most times in the tournament's history. He is the only player to triumph in the event four times. Three players have won it thrice and 16 players have won the tournament twice.
Last year, Rory McIlroy became the latest player to win the Canadian Open twice by beating Tony Finau by two strokes.
Here's a look at the multiple times winners at the RBC Canadian Open:
- Leo Diegel: 1924, 1925, 1928, 1929
- Tommy Armour: 1927, 1930, 1934
- Sam Snead: 1938, 1940, 1941
- Lee Trevino: 1971, 1977, 1979
- Charles Murray: 1906, 1911
- Albert Murray: 1908, 1913
- Karl Keffer: 1909, 1914
- James Douglas Edgar: 1919, 1920
- Harry Cooper: 1932, 1937
- Jim Ferrier: 1950, 1951
- Doug Ford: 1959, 1963
- Tom Weiskopf: 1973, 1975
- Bruce Lietzke: 1978, 1982
- Curtis Strange: 1985, 1987
- Greg Norman: 1984, 1992
- Nick Price: 1991, 1994
- Steve Jones: 1989, 1997
- Jim Furyk: 2006, 2007
- Jhonattan Vegas: 2016, 2017
- Rory McIlroy: 2019, 2022