Oakville ON – Venezualan golfer Jhonattan Vegas shot an 8-under par 64, to finish the tournament at 12-under par 276 and win the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday. Vegas finishes one shot ahead of Jon Rahm, Martin Laird, and Dustin Johnson who finished at a tie for second place at 11-under par.
Jhonattan Vegas wins Canadian Open
Vegas started his round hot, making five straight birdies beginning on the second hole. He would finish it hot as well, with birdies on 16, 17, and 18 to take the clubhouse lead. Coming into the day at 4-under par and five strokes off the lead, not many picked Vegas to make a challenge. He did though, and it was enough to earn his second PGA tour win, and first since 2011.
“I knew I had to get off to a fast start. I know that I was in striking distance but I had to get myself close to the lead early so the guys kind of know I was there,” Vegas stated after his round. “So I just kept pushing and kept firing at pins and kept really going right after it. I got really good momentum and obviously I was able to close it out with some birdies.
Vegas was surprised that his 12-under was enough for the outright win. “12-under and at the time, I think there were a bunch of guys around 11 or 10. We had I think Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker, a bunch of guys, really close. Great players that I mean, I knew if I got lucky, it was going to be a playoff. Super surprised when I saw that, you know, nobody got to 12.”
Challengers fell Off
Vegas finished his round early, and watched from the clubhouse as golfer after golfer missed chances to tie him at 18. The closest was Johnson, who missed a chip from the fringe by inches. Also coming close was Steve Wheatcroft. Wheatcroft was at 11-under heading into the par-five 18th hole. He hit his second shot into a green side bunker, and merely needed to get up and down for birdie and a playoff. Instead he chunked his bunker shot, putting the ball into the water hazard.
Wheatcroft’s missed opportunity
“It was an easy shot to be honest with you. It was a perfect lie, sitting right in the bottom of the bunker. All I was trying to do was try not to chunk it out of there and let it run down the hill. I dug my feet in and realized there was zero sand underneath my shoes.”
“Obviously you can’t test the surface. I mean, you can’t play from that. I don’t know how else — what I could have done any different. It was an easy bunker shot.”
“It’s a brutal way to lose a golf tournament. I didn’t feel like I did much wrong in there. I tried to cut the 4-iron in there and it didn’t cut. I’m sure I had a little nerves going. I’m sure I kept it a little too far to the left but I knew the bunker shot was easy. Just wish there would have been sand underneath.”
Vegas on Five Years Between Victories
“Obviously I won my second start on the PGA Tour as a rookie, and then the following week, I almost won in Torrey Pines. So I mean, things came a little bit easier at that point. I played well the rest of the year too, played solid.”
“So I though that I could have kept it going, winning a few times right after that. Obviously putting aside the injuries, its just hard to win here. You have to play well from the beginning all the way to the end, and obviously like today, I mean, you have to have things work out your way to win.”
Main Photo per Kevin Gamble, LWOS Inc. All Rights Reserved.
