Why The Canadian Open Was a Huge Boost For Europe's Ryder Cup Team

YOU may have noticed something about the leaderboard at the Canadian Open - it was dominated by English golfers.

Tommy Fleetwood, who lost in a playoff when Nick Taylor holed an outrageous 72-feet eagle putt, must be wondering what he has to do in order to win on the PGA Tour. This was his fourth runner-up finish and his best opportunity to finally bring his drought to an end.

The 18th at Oakdale is a par five that the vast majority of the field had reduced to four blows. And in regulation play Fleetwood came to the tee knowing that he needed a birdie to win.

He pulled out an iron and dumped it into the right rough. Instead of going for the green, he chose to lay up but hit a shocking shot miles right. He left himself in the rough and on a downslope and brought a six into play. It is to his eternal credit that he somehow managed to salvage a par. But he will be having nightmares about that hole for months to come.

Fleetwood being the sort of human being he is, he was gracious in defeat, admitting that the better man had won. It is to be hoped that Tommy lands that elusive win soon.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Tyrrell Hatton came up one shot shy. He had rounds of 72, 64, 72 and 64. To say the least, it was a lopsided week for the eccentric Hatton. 

His final round was remarkable. He birdied four of the first five holes to move back into contention. But the wheels came off when he found a hazard at the eighth after carving his tee shot way right. It cost him a double-bogey. And he wasn’t amused. There have been times in the past when Hatton would have given up the ghost at that point. Not this time.

He birdied the 10th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th to come back in 30. Had it not been for that double bogey he would have been celebrating his second PGA Tour title.

Tied with Hatton on 16 under par was Aaron Rai, the Englishman who wears a glove on each hand. After opening with rounds of 67, 69 and 69, Rai was expected to fold. He did no such thing, battling his way to a fine 67 on what was a proper golf course.

In his rookie season last year, Rai comfortably kept his card. After his joint third finish in Canada he is 65th in the FedEx Cup standings and well on the way to reaching the end-of-season playoffs. Rai is a quiet man who goes about his business with a minimum of fuss. He is one of the hardest workers on the PGA Tour and deserves all the success he gets.

And all alone in eighth place was a resurgent Justin Rose. Strangely, he also had a double-bogey at the eighth, finding the same trouble as Hatton. Rose has already won on the PGA Tour this season and is very nearly back to his absolute best.

Luke Donald, Europe’s Ryder Cup captain, will have been delighted with what he witnessed in Canada.