Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre won his first PGA Tour event by shooting 2-under par 68 for a one-stroke victory in the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario.
MacIntyre, a left-hander who earned his PGA Tour card via the DP World Tour Race to Dubai rankings, finished at 16-under 264.
Ben Griffin, who was in the final pairing with MacIntyre and also vying for his first title on the tour, had a late rally with three straight birdies, but was unable to sink a putt from the fringe on the last hole. His 65 left him 15 under.
When MacIntyre made the turn, he held a four-stroke lead with six golfers sharing second place. But this tournament had been far from decided, not to mention MacIntyre’s apparent irritation because of noise stemming from a drone from CBS equipment.
Griffin, who was among a group in second place entering the round, had a strange day, with a birdie on the par-4 third hole after his tee shot settled on the seventh fairway. He recovered then, but he had all pars until birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 17. The putt on the 16th green was from nearly 40 feet.
Third-place finisher Victor Perez of France shot a bogey-free 64, capped by a birdie putt on the final hole.
When Perez finished, MacIntyre had four holes left and only a one-stroke edge. He immediately birdied No. 15 to go up two, with Griffin joining Perez at 14 under.
South Korea’s Tom Kim and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy made charges with 64s to share fourth place at 13 under and Canada’s Corey Conners (65) was sixth at 12 under.
MacIntyre’s lead grew to five shots after a birdie on No. 11. But by the time he bogeyed the next two holes, Kim and McIlroy had wrapped up their rounds to sit just two shots back.
While Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes moved into contention by late Saturday, it was Conners who made a strong push in the final round in an effort for a Canadian to win the event for the second straight year. Nick Taylor won the event last year, but didn’t make the cut this weekend.
Conners had four straight birdies from Nos. 11-14, moved closer with a birdie on No. 17 before closing with a bogey. Hughes (70) finished in a tie for seventh at 10 under.
Kim opened the final round with three consecutive birdies and moved to 6 under for the day through 12 holes.
Griffin and Maverick McNealy (65), who tied for seventh, were the only U.S. golfers to finish inside the top 10.
–Field Level Media
