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Why the PGA Tour did something it had never done during the playoff at RBC Canadian Open
Ryan Fox won the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday thanks to what he described as "the best shot I ever hit." But just minutes earlier, it wouldn't have been such a spectacular result.
The 38-year-old New Zealander wrapped up his second PGA Tour title on the fourth extra hole of a playoff against Sam Burns after hitting a towering 3-wood from 258 yards to six feet. Golf fans not paying close attention at home, however, may have been confused by the pin placement.
The closing par 5 at TPC Toronto's North Course had featured a far-left pin placement during Sunday's final round and for the first two holes of the playoff. But for the first time ever, the PGA Tour decided to change the hole location during the playoff.
CBS had PGA Tour tournament director Cam Crawford on the broadcast to explain the situation to Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman as Fox and Burns were shuttled back to the tee to start the third playoff hole.
"We want to provide a little dynamic to the players, to the audience, and, so this was put in motion earlier this week," Crawford said. "This is a first time for the tour, and we preserved this hole location just for this instance."
Interesting. As Crawford also explained, they like to play the same hole because more fans are able to see the action from the grandstands. But it's also nice for those fans to not see the same hole played the exact same way over and over like we've seen in previous playoffs. Anyway, here's video of the full segment:
After both players parred the hole for a third consecutive time (both had birdied it in regulation), both Burns and Fox put their second shots on the green during the fourth playoff hole. But after Burns three-putted, Fox two-putted for birdie from six feet for the win. With the way things turned out, we're pretty sure he was happy about the tour's new wrinkle.
