Jhonattan Vegas successfully defends RBC Canadian Open

Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela successfully defended his title at the RBC Canadian Open. He beat Charley Hoffman at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff at Glen Abbey in Ontario.

Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas won the RBC Canadian Open for a second straight season, defeating Charley Hoffman of the USA in a sudden-death playoff.

Vegas might have won the tournament outright in regulation play, but he raced a chip on the 72nd hole and was unable to make birdie on the par-5.

Charley Hoffman could also have won the title in regulation play but he couldn’t get the ball to drop on the run for home. He left an eagle putt just short on the 16th then missed a 10-footer for birdie on the 17th and a 20-footer for an eagle on the 72nd hole.

Vegas and Hoffman ended tied on a four-round total of 267 and headed back to the 18th tee to decide the event via sudden-death holes.

It looked as though the Venezuelan was in trouble when he went for the green in two from the left hand bunker and caught the lip. But the ball lost little impetus and flew all the way across the water short of the putting surface and right over the green into a similar spot he had found in regulation play.

“When I heard the clip, I thought I was in the water,” he said after. “But then I saw the ball in the air and it was still going really hard and forward.”

Remembering his chip from the 72nd hole, this time Vegas rolled it down to within a foot of the hole. Hoffman was unable to secure his birdie and the Venezuelan was left to tap in and claim a second straight RBC Canadian Open title.

3 Talking points from the RBC Canadian Open

1 – With this win it looks likely that Jhonattan Vegas will have secured a place in the International side for the the Presidents Cup. “It's always a lifetime dream to be part of some of those great teams. I mean, not that many guys can experience what being on a Presidents Cup,” said Vegas.

2 – It was another good week for Ian Poulter. The Englishman finished alone in third place after an excellent final round of 64. "I'm trending in the right direction," Poulter said. "I'm gaining a bit more confidence with each week I play right now, I'm playing a lot freer than I did three months ago. When you don't know if you're going to be playing the following week, or what tour you're going to be playing on, it's not easy to play golf. I've certainly eased off the pressure."

Ian Poulter swing analysis:

3 – Charley Hoffman recorded his fifth top-five of the PGA Tour season. Although disappointed to miss out on the victory, the American was able to take the positives as he looks towards the USPGA Championship and the FedEx Cup playoffs. “The whole progress of going forward, and I'm doing that, playing well, and obviously you always want to finish these ones off. It's going to be a little bittersweet but I'm happy with the way I played,” said Hoffman. “Obviously good momentum. Got a major championship and the FedExCup coming up, and looking forward to that and hopefully I can keep it going.”

RBC Canadian Open Glen Abbey, Oakville, Ontario Jul 27-30 Purse: $6,000,000 Par: 72

1 Jhonattan Vegas (Ven) 66 69 67 65 267 $1,080,000 2 Charley Hoffman (USA) 68 66 65 68 267 $648,000 3 Ian Poulter (Eng) 67 69 68 64 268 $408,000 4 Gary Woodland (USA) 70 63 68 68 269 $288,000 T5 Tony Finau (USA) 69 67 66 68 270 $219,000 T5 Robert Garrigus (USA) 70 69 62 69 270 $219,000 T5 Brandon Hagy (USA) 65 68 69 68 270 $219,000 T8 Kevin Chappell (USA) 65 69 66 71 271 $180,000 T8 Dustin Johnson (USA) 67 69 68 67 271 $180,000 T10 James Hahn (USA) 66 73 67 66 272 $144,000 T10 Sean O’Hair (USA) 69 68 70 65 272 $144,000 T10 Andres Gonzales (USA) 67 69 66 70 272 $144,000 T10 Seamus Power (Ire) 68 70 68 66 272 $144,000

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage